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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24019879">The Safe Haven</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterInWonderland/pseuds/WriterInWonderland'>WriterInWonderland</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Safe Haven [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Amnesia, Eventual Character Death, Eventual betrayal, M/M, Post-The Death Cure, Slow Burn, WICKED is not good, brenda plays the guitar, brenda/gally might be a thing, but Ava Paige might be??, compulsive behaviours, descriptions of panic attacks, happy ending I promise, mostly aris and newt’s pov, some extracts from the fever code, sonya is newt’s sister</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:28:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>107,243</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24019879</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WriterInWonderland/pseuds/WriterInWonderland</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They’ve been at the Safe Haven for six months, and everything is running smoothly. But then a girl arrives out of nowhere, and her story is all too familiar. They must decide who to trust and how to end this once and for all.<br/>But it’s not going to be easy.</p><p> </p><p>(Can be read alone, but you might want to check out Part 1 just so you don’t get confused about how things ended back then!)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Safe Haven [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1732561</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>145</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Newt was lying on his back, staring up at the dark ceiling. </p><p>His friends were snoring, the only sound filling the room. That was until Newt heard a sigh come from the bed to his left, then the rustling of sheets. He turned to hitch himself up onto his elbow, facing the source of the noise.</p><p>“Tommy?” he whispered, “Are you awake?”</p><p>“Yeah, I’m awake. Are you okay?” came Thomas’s response.</p><p>Newt swung his legs over the side of his bed and sat up, running a hand through his wild hair in an attempt to tame it, “Fine. Can we go for a walk?”</p><p>“Sure,” said Thomas, reaching through the darkness in an attempt to find some warm clothes. </p><p>Once they’d both slipped on suitable outfits for the inevitable morning chill, Thomas extended a hand which Newt took in his own, interlacing their fingers. He could see the outline of a smile on the boy’s face before he turned, leading them out through the sea of beds towards the door of their dorm room. Thomas carefully cracked the door open, enough for them both to soundlessly slip out of it and not wake the others with the creak of metal. </p><p>Outside, moonlight streaked the night sky, causing the ocean to shimmer with it, sending sparks flashing across every wave. It was as if the boys were drawn towards the spectacle, as they wordlessly began walking in the direction of the beach, across the stretch of grass that separated the block of dorms from the sand.</p><p> <br/>
“Why were you awake?” Thomas asked when he could be sure that they wouldn’t wake anyone with their voices which seemed overly loud in the silence of the morning.</p><p>“I just couldn’t sleep,” Newt replied, “What about you?”</p><p>“Bad dream,” said Thomas, to which Newt responded with the gentle squeeze of his hand.</p><p>Nobody else in the Safe Haven was awake yet - Newt’s watch told him that it was almost five a.m. so nobody else should be awake for at least an hour. It was a regular occurrence that both Newt and Thomas awoke before the rest, and neither complained about the extra time they got to spend alone together. </p><p>They walked in silence for a while, parallel to the water, listening to the constant murmur of the waves as they crashed shamelessly onto the shore. The stars reflected in the water, the horizon hazy, making it look as if the sky went on forever. Newt would never get over the beauty of this place - it hit him every time just how lucky they were to be here, compared to everything else they’d been subjected to before. It was their own little paradise, shut off from the outside world and concealed from all the horrors that lay beyond. </p><p>Thomas eventually slowed to a stop, releasing Newt’s hand and shrugging off his coat before laying it out flat on the sand and lowering himself down onto it. Newt watched him with curiosity and adoration, a small smile playing on his lips, before Thomas gestured for him to join. </p><p>“You can see the stars better this way,” Thomas said simply.</p><p>Newt couldn’t not comply, so he positioned himself beside the boy who immediately reached for his hand and gave it a tight squeeze.</p><p>“What do you think is out there?” Newt asked, allowing the stars to blur into one huge shimmering collective of light in front of his eyes. </p><p>“Aliens,” replied Thomas, so full of certainty that Newt would never dream of arguing otherwise.</p><p>If he believed that aliens existed, let them exist just for him.</p><p>“Do you think their sun scorched their planet?” Newt asked.</p><p>Thomas paused for a moment, eyes never leaving the star littered sky above them, “Maybe. Or maybe it’ll happen to them soon. I can just hope that their government doesn’t release a virus that almost wipes out their entire species.”</p><p>“I’m sure they’re doing a much better job at sustaining their planet,” said Newt.</p><p>“Perhaps,” Thomas replied, tracing his thumb softly against Newt’s knuckles, setting his nerves on edge from the simple gesture. </p><p>It was pure, innocent times like this that Newt adored - just existing in a moment with Thomas by his side and nothing in their way to stop them. It was like nothing else mattered and everything else faded away. </p><p>Newt wasn’t sure exactly how long passed while the boys lay on the beach, drinking in the celestial sky and each other. It felt like hours could have passed in this way, but darkness still coated the sky, suggesting otherwise.</p><p>It was only when Newt felt Thomas shiver slightly beside him that he considered leaving this little bubble and moving to somewhere warmer, “Hey, Tommy?”</p><p>“Hmm?” came the distant sounding response.</p><p>Newt couldn’t keep the smile off his face, tugging slightly on the boy’s hand to gain his attention back, “Let’s go and sit inside. I don’t want you getting sick out here.”</p><p>Thomas sighed, hoisting himself up into a seated position and looking down at Newt with a certain sleepiness to his eyes, “Okay. Let’s go get coffee.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Short but sweet??<br/>(The chapters get longer, I promise!)<br/>Let me know what you think xx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>An Aris POV!<br/>Most of this story flips between Newt and Aris, but there are a few different perspectives later on when there's a bit more action. But for now...<br/>Aris.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Aris woke up in a cold sweat, his heart hammering in his chest as he sat up rigidly in bed, gasping for breath. Panic seized his lungs as he cast his gaze around the darkened room, wondering where the hell he was. </p><p>He instinctively went to yell out for someone to help him; to tell him what was going on, but his eyes adjusted and he noticed the sleeping figures lying in the beds scattered around the room. It hit him suddenly that he couldn’t be in danger if these people were sleeping peacefully around him - so what was going on and why couldn’t he remember anything? </p><p>Aris brought his knees up to his chest, trying to breath through the panic and trying to <em> remember. </em>He considered waking up the person who was in the bed above him, but he didn’t dare in case they told him something he didn’t want to hear. </p><p>His memories felt like an itch he couldn’t quite scratch, too distant for him to grasp hold of but still close enough for Aris to know that what he was forgetting was extremely important - the entirety of his life thus far, and the answer to why he had woken up in this dark room full of people.</p><p>“Come on, come on,” he murmured, willing his brain to make at least a single connection to something that could tell him any detail, no matter how small.</p><p>But it was more of a feeling than a memory that came to him first - intense, scorching heat scolding his skin. The next thing he remembered was a rough pair of hands on his shoulders and a woman talking to him, lips moving but no sound coming out. It was hazy from there, like he was watching his past play out on fast forward through an old videotape:</p><p>Being dragged into a huge complex, seeing ‘WICKED’ emblazoned on the uniforms of his abductors. What he saw next happened so quickly; the memories flooding through his head like a body of water, threatening to drown him from the impact. </p><p>- WICKED - the Trials - the Maze - the Scorch - Denver - the cure - the…</p><p>
  <em> Safe Haven.  </em>
</p><p>He was in the Safe Haven.</p><p>Relief pulsed through him as he exhaled a shaky breath, falling backwards onto his mattress. He was safe. And these were his friends asleep around him. </p><p>Aris lay motionless on his bed for a few moments, allowing the prick of tears in his eyes to subside and his heart to return to a steadier pace. This was surely the worst bout of amnesia he’d had yet; the first two times hadn’t been nearly as suffocating as this, though they had both been intense and sudden. But all were terrifying, and there was no denying that fact.</p><p>He knew he should tell someone - his friends, a doctor, <em> someone </em>. Aris had been hoping that it would go away by itself eventually so he didn’t have to worry about it, but it seemed that it was only getting worse and that filled him with so much anxiety. But at the same time, telling someone about it would make it so much more real and he wasn’t ready for that when he hadn’t quite come to terms with the idea himself. </p><p>Eventually, Aris rolled out of bed and recomposed himself while he dressed silently before making his way out of the dark room.</p><p> He needed air. And coffee. </p><p>It was a crisp morning, the sun just starting to pierce the darkness as he walked the short distance across the lawn towards the cafeteria, and Aris found himself shivering into his coat. He’d spent the entirety of the winter huddled under layers of clothes while his friends had laughed at his lack of toleration to the cold, and yet he was still feeling the effects even in March when spring was on its way. </p><p>As he pushed through the doors to the cafeteria, he stopped short - Newt and Thomas were nestled closed together at the table in the far corner of the room. It looked kind of private. Thomas had his arm wound around Newt’s waist and they were sitting with their sides pressed together. Before Aris could consider leaving without interrupting the boys, Newt turned his head and lifted a hand in greeting, “Morning, Aris!”</p><p>“Hey guys,” he replied as he turned towards the table where the coffee brewer stood ready for the regular morning demand. </p><p>Aris poured himself a cup of the stuff; black and strong, just how he needed it in the mornings, before heading to the table where the two boys were sitting, nursing their own mugs. He noticed that Thomas had removed his arm from around Newt’s waist, putting a slight distance between them, but he didn’t comment on it. This wasn’t the first time he’d noticed something like this between them.</p><p>“What are you two doing up so early?” he asked, swinging his legs over the bench opposite them. </p><p>“Couldn’t sleep,” said Newt, “What about you?”</p><p>Aris halted, trying to think of a cover story so he didn’t have to explain the terrible amnesia episode, “Oh, uh… just a nightmare.”</p><p>“I get them too,” Thomas said quietly, “I think most of us still do.”</p><p>Newt nodded, “Molly says that it’s normal after everything we were subjected to. It would be stranger if you didn’t get them.”</p><p>Molly was second in command in their Safe Haven, but she was also the doctor who had fixed Newt up after he was shot in Denver. Aris knew that she’d delved into a little bit of counselling for some of them, but he hadn’t known that Newt had been one of the people speaking to her. There was still a distinctive divide between their friendship group, but it had been getting smaller and smaller over the six months that they’d been here. Aris had enjoyed getting to know the others a little better, but there were a lot of people here and still so many that he hadn’t spoken to, despite the close proximity that they all lived in. But there was always a sense of community and family whenever everyone was together, and that was something incredibly special.</p><p>“Anything else on your mind?” asked Newt, “You look a little peaky.”</p><p>“Peaky?” Aris repeated.</p><p>Thomas laughed, “He means pale. Honestly, where do you even get these Britishisms from?”</p><p>“Hey don’t start on me. Just because I talk differently to the rest of you shanks,” Newt retorted, cuffing the boy lightly on the arm and shaking his head with fond irritance, “But seriously Aris, are you sure you’re okay?”</p><p>Aris nodded, plastering a smile onto his face, “Fine. Just needed this coffee.”</p><p>Not long after Aris had arrived, Frypan entered the cafeteria to begin preparing the breakfast for the entire Safe Haven, calling out to the three boys in greeting, “Morning fellas!”</p><p>“Morning chef!” Thomas replied, saluting their friend, “What you cooking up for us this morning?</p><p>Frypan paused in the doorway to the kitchens, “What do you fancy?”</p><p>“Full English!” Newt replied before Thomas could put in his own request, earning him a playful glare.</p><p>“Well, your wish is my command,” said Frypan, “Haven’t done one of those properly yet.”</p><p>The boy disappeared into the kitchens, leaving the three of them alone in the cafeteria yet again. If Aris hadn’t been paying attention, he wouldn’t have noticed the way Thomas was looking at Newt as the boy drained his mug, tilting his head back in the process. When Newt caught Thomas staring, he shot him a glance which Aris struggled to decipher, an unspoken exchange between the two boys. He never really spent time with the pair alone so these small mannerisms usually went unnoticed.</p><p>“What are you two doing today?” Thomas asked once he’d stopped his staring, “More field stuff I assume?”</p><p>“Yeah, we’re going to have a busier schedule now that spring is on the way. We need to plan it this morning after breakfast,” said Newt.</p><p>“We have a good team and leader,” Aris replied, gesturing to Newt, “We can manage a bit of extra work.”</p><p>Truth be told, Aris had been doubtful that they’d be able to provide enough food for the entire Safe Haven in the few months they’d had before the winter, but he had been proved exceptionally wrong. With Newt’s leadership skills and their exquisite gardening team, they’d somehow managed to work hard and produce enough to keep Frypan happy.</p><p>Newt nodded, a slight smile on his face, “What about you, Tommy? When are the Fishers heading out?”</p><p>“This afternoon,” said Thomas, “Is there another campfire thing on the beach after dinner today? Or a Gathering?”</p><p>“I don’t think it’s another Gathering because Molly or Vince would have confirmed it officially yesterday,” Aris explained, sipping his coffee.</p><p>Minho jogged through the cafeteria doors then, his hair spiking up in all directions from the sea breeze and his intense running pace. Honestly, Aris would never know why he chose to do that to himself every morning - it was like his morning ritual, and he would get irritable if his schedule was messed up for whatever reason. You could guarantee that Minho had spent at least a half hour running before everyone else got up in the morning.</p><p>“Morning… guys,” he huffed, collapsing down onto the bench beside Newt who instantly slid further away from him, into Thomas’s shoulder.</p><p>“Uh, uh. I don’t think so. Get your sweatiness away from me, Minho. Go take a shower,” Newt sighed with exasperation.</p><p>“I’m starving,” Minho said, ignoring Newt completely, “What’s cooking?”</p><p>“Full English, courtesy of the Brit,” said Aris.</p><p>Minho turned towards Newt, nodding approvingly but also noticing the distance the boy had attempted to put between them, “I like your thinking. But come on, Newtie, I’m not that bad.”</p><p>“Yes, you are,” said Thomas, “Go take a shower. Food will be ready when you get back.”</p><p>It wasn’t long before the rest of their friends began filing into the cafeteria along with everyone else in the Safe Haven, most rubbing their eyes and yawning. The seats began filling up, and Aris was grateful for this table in the corner of the room, away from all the bustle of activity.</p><p>“Morning, Aris,” said a voice behind him, before he felt a hand on his shoulder as a body slipped onto the bench right beside him. It was Teresa, her dark hair still flattened at the back from where she’d been laying on it, as if she’d literally just rolled out of bed, “When did you wake up? I didn’t see you in our dorm.”</p><p>“An hour ago? I’m not sure,” Aris said as Teresa rested her forehead onto her arms, her hair splaying out across the table. </p><p>“It’s too early,” Teresa groaned.</p><p>Thomas reached out a hand to mess up her hair even more, but Teresa just simply tried to swat him away with a pathetic flick of her wrist. It wasn’t even that early now, but Teresa was not a morning person at all and it was kind of hilarious. Aris caught Sonya’s eye from across the table and rolled his eyes. </p><p>Most of their friends now lined the benches on either side of the table they had claimed, waiting for Frypan’s usual announcement of breakfast. Everyone in their dorm room had gotten so close over the past six months, including the Immunes that hadn’t been in any of WICKED’s trials. Aris had really enjoyed getting to know some of them and hearing all their different stories about how they’d ended up here. From what he’d learnt, their experiences were not too much better than his own. </p><p>The clatter of the door leading through to the kitchen announced the arrival of breakfast as Frypan placed the dishes on the serving table, resulting in a tsunami of people to all rush towards it at once.</p><p>“You coming?” Teresa asked as she stood up from the bench, her tiredness clearly wiped away now that food was being served.</p><p>But Aris shook his head, “I’ll wait a minute for the crowd to die down.”</p><p>Teresa shrugged, turning her back on him to join the throng of people fighting over eggs. He knew that Frypan always cooked extra, so if they ran out then there would be no chance of them going hungry - one of the perks of having a friend as a cook, he supposed. </p><p>“Good thinking,” said Newt, “There’s no stopping those hungry beasts.”</p><p>“Talking of beasts…” Thomas said, looking at something over Aris’s shoulder and following with his gaze until Minho came to sit down beside him with his plate of food, taking what had initially been Teresa’s seat. </p><p>The three boys could hardly contain their laughter as Minho started piling the food into his mouth, stopping mid chew when he noticed the three of them watching him. </p><p>“What?” Minho asked with his mouth full, oblivious to their source of amusement. </p><p>That was obviously the final straw for Thomas who threw back his head and started cackling with laughter so hard that tears started pooling in his eyes.</p><p>The look in Minho’s eyes was a strange mixture of confusion, guilt and fascination, enough to finally set both Aris and Newt off into fits of laughter. </p><p>“Slim it, slintheads,” Minho mumbled, “Go get something to eat.”</p><p>After Aris had put together a plate of his own, he noticed one of the children skipping up to the serving table with an empty glass in her hand.</p><p>“Hey Mia,” said Aris, reaching down to ruffle her messy blonde hair. This girl was the youngest in the Safe Haven, just five years old, and Aris had such a soft spot for her. </p><p>“Hi Aris!” she said, rising onto her toes to peer at the table, “Please can you help me pour some water? But don’t make it look like you did it. I want them to think that I’m big enough to do it by myself.”</p><p>Aris laughed but complied, turning his back on the table where all the children were sitting with whichever adult had been assigned to them that morning. He poured some water from the jug into her glass and winked as she beamed up at him with such adoration. </p><p>“Is Teresa teaching us today?” Mia asked, clutching her glass tightly.</p><p>“I expect so,” said Aris, “She was planning a lesson for you yesterday.”</p><p>Mia sighed, a huge smile on her face, “Good. She’s my favourite.”</p><p>“Your favourite? What about me?” Aris asked, bringing a hand to cover his heart in fake shock.</p><p>“You’re both my favourites,” Mia said before skipping back off to her table and showing off the full glass that she poured all by herself.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>One important talk (or two)</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Post-breakfast was always a bustle of activity with people running off to get ready for the day or just enjoying the time they had altogether before they started work. It was always a little hazy in the mornings as sleep gradually rolled from their shoulders, lifting off of them and hanging in the air above. That was why Newt always loved mornings and their absolute ease, with no pressure and no expectations; a blank slate of a day, full of new opportunity. It was a kind of simple magic.</p><p>Thomas leaned in towards Newt to whisper to him, “It seems like Brenda has found someone else to be all hands on with.”</p><p>Newt glanced down their table and noticed that Brenda was sitting leaning into Gally’s shoulder, causing the boy to turn a subtle shade of pink at the not so innocent gesture. </p><p>“Ew,” Newt replied simply, “At least she’s not coming onto you anymore though, Tommy.”</p><p>“Yeah, well you wouldn’t let that happen now, would you?” Thomas teased, his voice barely a whisper so they wouldn’t be overheard. </p><p>“No bloody chance,” said Newt, both boys chuckling quietly to themselves.</p><p>“What are you shanks giggling about?” Minho asked, a small smirk on his face, “Care to share with the class?”</p><p>Thomas nodded in the direction of Brenda and Gally, but it appeared that they weren’t the only ones to notice this new development. That was the thing about the friendship they all had - they were all so close that one slight change in character would never go unnoticed for long.</p><p>“They’re welcome to each other,” Minho said eventually, “At least it’ll spice things up a bit around here.”</p><p>“Not getting bored are you, Minho?” teased Newt, “You’ve changed jobs enough times so that shouldn’t be the case.”</p><p>Minho rolled his eyes dramatically, “I just want to be a guard and Molly is <em> still </em> seeing past my abilities and saying that I’m not properly trained. She let <em> Brenda </em> be a guard and <em> she </em> isn’t trained!”</p><p>“You don’t know that,” Thomas said, “But hey, how about I throw you overboard off the ship later? Will that make things more interesting for you?”</p><p>Newt snorted with laughter, clutching onto Thomas’s arm as Minho glared at them both, obviously not impressed by the lack of sympathy or remorse heading in his direction. He kind of deserved it though, after messing around poor Molly just so he could do a job that he thought he’d prefer more after he’d grown bored of his old one. Though, as it turned out, the new job was never quite satisfying enough for Minho. </p><p>“Shanks,” the boy said eventually.</p><p>Newt’s watch beeped, telling him that it was about time to start rounding up his gardening team so they could plan for the upcoming spring weeks where their workload would increase tenfold. He didn’t mind it at all, in fact he appreciated having something to focus on and set his mind to.</p><p>“I’d better round up the team,” Newt murmured, “I guess I’ll see you later, Tommy.”</p><p>“You <em> guess? </em>” the boy teased.</p><p>Newt punched him gently on the arm, “I <em> will </em>.”</p><p>Thomas gave him a satisfied nod and a smile, but when Newt turned to say goodbye to Minho he found that the boy was smirking at him, one eyebrow raised questioningly. Take from that what he wanted, but Newt was out there and he had work to do. </p><p>Newt rounded up his field group, getting them all to sit on a table that had emptied in the middle of the cafeteria while he ran off into the supply room just off of the kitchens to retrieve a pencil and some paper. </p><p>“Hey, Fry,” said Newt as he passed by Frypan who was cleaning up the kitchen with the other two cooks, “That was a bloody good breakfast you did there.”</p><p>“Thanks, Newt. Glad you enjoyed it,” Frypan replied, “Hey, we’re running low on the potatoes and carrots, think you guys could get us some by tomorrow evening at the latest?”</p><p>“Sure, we’re planning what we need to pick and plant now, so let me know if there’s anything else you need,” Newt said before making his way back out of the kitchen and through the dividing door.</p><p>The team consisted of himself as the leader, Aris, Harriet, Sonya, a few other Immunes and some adults. Newt had got close with most of them over the past few months, but none more so than Sonya. She had dropped the bomb to him not long after they’d arrived here in the Safe Haven that she’d had a memory. Any memory that makes its way through the Swipe is always something to treasure, but this memory was different - it was literally life changing for both Sonya and Newt. When she told him that her parents, <em> their </em> parents, had been murdered by four people from WICKED, and that they were siblings, Newt hadn’t known how to feel. He was her big brother and that was probably the biggest shock that any of them had experienced since being here. He hadn’t questioned it even for a moment, though, because he could tell instantly that she was telling him the complete truth. From both of them being British, phrases they both came out with and even some aspects of their appearance, Newt had no doubts about their relationship as siblings. It had taken them a while, but they had eventually settled into the idea and grown really close.</p><p>“Hey,” Newt said to his sister as he settled down into the space that Aris and Sonya had saved for him at their table, “You okay?”</p><p>“Yeah, actually… can we talk later? It’s kind of important,” Sonya whispered.</p><p>“Of course. I’ll find you later?” </p><p>Sonya smiled at him, “Sure. Thanks, Newt.”</p><p>“Any time,” he said, turning back to the rest of the group, “Morning everyone. We need to start planning out what we need to do for the growing season, which is going to be slightly hectic but I have faith that we can all pull it off. Frypan already put in some requests…”</p><p>Newt would never take for granted this job that Molly had given him in their first few days of being here in the Safe Haven, despite being an ex-Crank, or ex-<em> infected </em> as Thomas preferred to call it. He didn’t miss his Glade job as second-in-command, but he really enjoyed the leadership he was tasked with, and the ability to provide food for everyone here. It was a big job but his team always worked hard, managing to meet Frypan’s needs in the kitchens. Their team combined with the Fishers, Farmers and Chefs meant that the production line was efficient and always good enough to meet everyone’s needs. Newt couldn’t help but feel proud when they reached the goals that often seemed impossible at this stage of planning. </p><p>“So that’s the plan for the next few weeks, I suppose,” Newt said after around an hour of detailed planning on this now completely full A3 piece of paper. </p><p>“Looks good to me,” said Aris who had remained mostly quiet until now, “We’re a good team, and even though this is a lot of work I think we will manage just fine.”</p><p>The rest of the group nodded in agreement, the dedication and enthusiasm despite their previous lack of field experience shining on every face. This was why Newt loved his job, even if Minho said it was repetitive and boring. </p><p>“Great, then let’s regroup on the fields and get straight to work,” said Newt as he rolled up their plan into a tight tube, the group dispersing and their chatter following them out the doors.</p><p>Newt took a slight detour towards the dorms to put the paper safely by his bed so it wouldn’t get ruined out on the fields. He had a whole cluster of every roll of paper they’d scribbled on kept under his bed as a kind of memo to all the work they’d put in during their time here so far. He planned on bringing them all out on the one year anniversary of arriving here so they could all analyse and critique their work, but also reflect on their achievements to boost the morale of the team. </p><p>“Newt!” came a voice from the doorway of the dorm, “Do you have a minute?”</p><p>Newt turned to see Molly standing there, his stomach sinking slightly when he realised what she would probably be wanting to talk about. It wasn’t anything against Molly because Newt really admired the girl and appreciated everything she’d done for him; he just couldn’t feel happy to see her because it meant talking about things, and things were hard to talk about.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess,” said Newt as he approached the girl.</p><p>“I was wondering if we could have a catch up, it’s been a while since we talked about how everything’s going,” Molly explained.</p><p>Newt bit his bottom lip anxiously, “Sure.”</p><p>“Let’s take this outside,” she said, gesturing for Newt to follow her out of the dorm room. </p><p>This was a part of his life that Newt didn’t share with anyone - not even Thomas. Confiding in Molly hadn’t come naturally to him and even though she wasn’t a trained psychologist or counsellor, she was a good listener and good at giving a doctor’s approach to advice. </p><p>“So how are you doing?” Molly asked.</p><p>“I’m okay,” Newt replied simply, needing a moment to warm up before allowing the harsh truths to spill verbally out into the world.</p><p>“Are you still having nightmares?” </p><p>“Yes, but they’re not as bad anymore,” Newt explained, “Not as intense.”</p><p>Molly had really helped him deal with the nightmares over the past few months after Thomas had encouraged him to talk to someone when he used to wake up either screaming or in tears. Thomas had always been there right by his side, holding Newt tightly until he came back to reality. Sometimes he woke Minho as well, but Teresa always slept like the dead to his right, so he’d never woken her. Luckily the nightmares had dulled back, becoming more bearable in the rare times he did get one, and for that Newt was grateful.</p><p>“That’s good, Newt. I’m glad,” Molly replied, “And what about what we talked about last time?”</p><p>This was a part of his life that Newt didn’t share with anyone but Molly. It had taken a lot for him to even tell her in the first place when it was at its absolute worst a few months ago and he hadn’t known what else to do. He’d been having what Molly called compulsions or urges to check up on his friends at completely random times, often triggered by nightmares. It was the kind of thing that he thought would go away with time, but time had made them stronger and more painful, despite the coping techniques he’d been trying. Recently, the urge had been directed mostly at Thomas - Newt would feel embarrassed if he could, but he just felt numb. There was an impenetrable wall that stopped him from feeling too much of anything.</p><p>“I don’t know. There are some times when I catch myself-” his breath hitched in his chest and he tried to compose himself, not wanting to make a scene in front of Molly. “Sometimes I catch myself checking on him in the middle of the night. If I’ve had a nightmare or just wake up with that feeling… It’s like I can’t control myself, and it takes over completely. He sleeps right beside me, so as soon as I consider stepping back and being realistic, the deed is done.”</p><p>Molly was silent for a moment, considering this new piece of information before asking, “Him? As in singular? You told me before that it was all of your friends as a whole.”</p><p>Newt nodded, looking away from Molly and towards the ocean. He’d felt the first urge to check on his friends a few months ago when the nightmares had been at their worst, usually to do with someone getting injured or being killed. The only thing he could do to calm himself down was to walk around the room and double check that his friends were, in fact, okay and breathing. It was almost like he didn’t have a choice after a while, like the irrational urge consumed him until he played it out and gave in. It was almost torturous. But it had surprised him when Thomas became the center of it, hitting harder than it ever had before, knowing exactly where he was most vulnerable. </p><p>“You don’t have to tell me who,” said Molly, “But maybe think about talking to him. He might be able to give you some reassurance when you get the urges. I know it isn’t easy, but try and remember the techniques we talked about. I wish I could give you more advice, but my knowledge is limited on this sort of stuff…”</p><p>“No, you’ve been great. Thank you. I guess I’m just afraid,” Newt replied.</p><p>“It’s normal to be scared, but you don’t have to suffer in silence. Just think about it, yeah? Talk to him. Maybe you’ll find a bit of peace in doing so, who knows?”</p><p>“Maybe,” said Newt.</p><p>Molly smiled at him and patted his shoulder sympathetically, “I’ll leave you to your morning, then, unless there’s anything else you wanted to talk about?”</p><p>“No. Thanks, Molly,” Newt said, forcing a smile onto his own face.</p><p>“Anytime. Come to me if you need anything at all, yeah? That’s what I’m here for,” said Molly before she started walking back off across the Safe Haven to do whatever job was calling for her attention this time.</p><p>Newt stood alone, a strange numbness washing over him like it always did when he opened himself up. It was as if he retreated far inside his own head whenever he talked about things, like he was compensating for what he’d just expelled. He felt so alone in there because nobody really understood; he hadn’t let anyone understand but Molly. But she didn’t count, though, on an emotional level. Maybe she was right and he should talk to Thomas - at least then he would have someone to properly confide in. He would have talked to the boy already if he wasn’t so afraid of how he might react; Newt couldn’t lose him, he just couldn’t. </p><p>He was snapped from his thoughts by the sight of someone walking towards him out the corner of his eye, a briskness to their stride. It was Sonya, probably coming to find him after he’d been gone for a while longer than he should have been. Maybe she’d been waiting. Oops.</p><p>“Everything okay?” Sonya asked as she approached, “What was Molly talking to you about?”</p><p>“Oh, uh… she was just making sure I’m okay. She likes to check in every so often,” Newt said, not lying but also not telling the full truth. </p><p>Sonya seemed to believe him as she nodded, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets, “Do you think we can talk now? The others won’t notice I’m gone for a few extra minutes.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure. Shall we…” Newt gestured to the ground where they both lowered themselves to, tucking their legs underneath themselves as they sat opposite. It seemed that today was the day for<em> talking. </em></p><p>“So.” Sonya said, taking a deep breath, “It’s about Aris.”</p><p>Newt’s eyes widened slightly, “Really?”</p><p>“Yeah, well, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about him for about a week now. It was so strange when it happened, and I thought he was just joking around or something at first. But then I wondered if it was something more; if something was actually wrong.” The girl readjusted her position, sighing deeply, “It happened when we were working in the fields, picking beans for dinner the other day. He was talking to me about something, and then he just… stopped. Completely mid-sentence. I looked over to see if he was okay, but he’d just frozen and was standing completely still until I said his name and it seemed to break him out of his trance, but he started looking around frantically as if he couldn’t remember where he was or what he was doing. It was so scary. He acted like nothing had happened after a few minutes, trying to convince me that he was fine. But it was clear that he wasn’t fine, Newt. I’m worried about him.”</p><p>Newt leaned forwards and ran his hands across his face, trying to make sense of the situation. If Aris had experienced a sudden bout of amnesia, why hadn’t he said anything? It didn’t make sense that he wouldn’t confide in Sonya who he was really close to and to shrug it off, saying that he was fine if he clearly wasn’t. Newt thought back to earlier that morning when he’d noticed that Aris had seemed a little bit off character, but blamed it on needing his coffee - maybe that had been another sign that he isn’t as okay as he says he is. Everyone has their secrets.</p><p>“I guess we either wait to see if it happens again, or ask him about it. There aren’t really any other options,” Newt sighed.</p><p>They both sat in silence for a moment, thoughts and conceptions richoteting through their heads like bullets streaking the stillness. Never quite hitting the target.</p><p>“What if it’s WICKED?” Sonya asked quietly.</p><p>“What?” Newt asked in surprise, “WICKED are gone, Sonya.”</p><p>“We don’t know that-”</p><p>“We have to <em> trust </em>that. I know we don’t know much about the happenings of the world,” Newt said, “But we have to trust that they are gone. If nothing else, we have to trust that. Why would you even think about connecting this to them?”</p><p>Sonya sighed, putting her head in her hands. “It’s just that we still have those chips in our heads. All of us from the trials except for Thomas and Minho. Maybe they can use them to manipulate our brain or something, like they controlled Beth and Gally. I get that that’s different, but it’s a possibility.”</p><p>Newt had been told about when Thomas, Minho, Jorge and Brenda had gone in to Denver to visit Hans to remove the chips, and how Thomas’s had been a fail-safe, causing him to unwillingly attack the others who attempted to get it out. Just another one of WICKED’s games. They had succeeded in removing them from both of the boy’s heads, thankfully, but the rest of them still had them in along with the Swipe, excluding Gally, preventing them from remembering their pasts before the Maze. </p><p>“Hey, it’s going to be okay. We’ll talk to Aris, work out what’s going on. Try not to worry too much,” he said, before shuffling to sit beside his sister, wrapping his arms around her protectively.</p><p>“Thanks, Newt,” she mumbled into his shoulder. “I’m glad I have you.”</p><p>Newt smiled slightly, the familiarity of this situation soothing, as if they had done this before. Who knows, maybe they had.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Be prepared for some major plot development in upcoming chapters.<br/>This ones goes a little more into the amnesia issue.<br/>I hope you enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>There was still a bit of time before dinner once they had finished work on the fields for the day, so Aris decided to take a walk along the beach while everyone cleaned themselves up. He needed to clear his head and stretch his cramped legs after the hours of field work, and he would have the chance to shower later, anyway. Aris thought he’d be alone on the beach at this time, but he noticed a figure sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, hair flying out behind her as it caught in the gentle breeze. Teresa’s gaze was set forwards, her eyes never leaving the horizon even as Aris approached her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, T,” Aris said as he sat down beside the girl and mirrored her position.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Aris.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sound of the ocean was enough to fill the silence as it breathed with them, each wave tumbling effortlessly onto the shore mere meters from their feet, as if taunting them with its presence. Sea spray drizzled across the surface as the body of water whisked the unassuming sand beneath it. Aris watched a single gull as it soared through the haze-filled sky, a small speck against a backdrop of endless blue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything okay?” Teresa asked him, her gaze still lingering up ahead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” said Aris, “You?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just tired. Those kids are hard work. Great fun, but hard work,” said Teresa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris allowed a smile to tug at the edges of his mouth at the mention of those children that felt like little brothers and sisters to him, “Tell me about them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well... you know the girl that Mia adores, Daisy? She told me about a dream she had that she keeps getting every night, and oh my goodness it’s absolutely awful. She says that in the dream, she’s the last human alive on the planet, and even the animals are dead. I’ve asked Molly to see if she can have a word or something because that just breaks my heart,” said Teresa, “She’s such a sweet kid as well, only seven years old. She doesn’t deserve that, none of them do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The world had been so harsh on these kids who had been so defenceless against everything, unable to fully comprehend what was going on to the people around them when the virus took control. But then, Aris and his friends had all been taken by WICKED when they were just kids with no say in anything that happened to him from there on in. It was too cruel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They deserve better than this mess of a world,” Aris said eventually.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree. But they like it here; being with their friends everyday. Mia told me that we’re like one big family, and all her friends are like her siblings. I don’t know what she went through exactly, but she mentioned a brother, who-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teresa randomly cut off mid-sentence and Aris’s gaze quickly slid towards her, finding that the girl had frozen in place, her eyes wide and fixed on the ocean before them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay?” Aris asked, snapping her from the trance as her eyes flicked onto him, searching his face with what looked like desperation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He heard Teresa’s breath catch as she inhaled sharply, scrambling suddenly to her feet and wandering down to where the waves were crashing over the sand. Teresa hadn’t exactly looked upset when their eyes had met; she’d looked more confused than anything and that was what was frightening. He went to stand beside her after a moment, noticing the blankness that painted her face and her ragged, uneven breathing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teresa?” he asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her muttered response was so quiet as her lips formed around the whisper, so quiet he almost missed it, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where the hell am I?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And it was then that Aris’s heart fell into a black abyss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t believe this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He </span>
  <em>
    <span>wouldn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> believe this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no way…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris stood silently beside his friend, his heart breaking a little with every passing second, allowing time to heal the amnesia the way it had with him. He wished he could do more to fix the pain Teresa was surely in as she searched the gaping hole for any clues, slowly filling with flashbacks and memories and their whole pasts. It would hit like a tsunami. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After what felt like an eternity, Teresa sighed beside him, relief evident across her face as she raked a hand through her hair, turning her back on the water and half collapsing back down onto the sand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Teresa said eventually after Aris had sat down beside her, “I didn’t mean-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many times?” Aris asked, cutting her off from whatever excuse she was going to use on him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” she asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How many times has it happened? The amnesia?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teresa looked at him with curiosity laden in her eyes, as if she couldn’t quite believe that he’d sussed her out and broken down the wall she’d most likely been building for weeks. Because Aris had done the same - shrugging it off like it was nothing, even though it was clearly a lot more than that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I had it too,” Aris admitted when Teresa didn’t respond to his original question, “Three times.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Teresa whispered, eyes widening by the second, “You had this too?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris nodded slowly, “I thought it was only me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is happening?” asked Teresa, “The memories- It’s like they’re getting harder to remember. Like the Swipe is getting stronger. More like how it was for the others.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The memories Aris had of everything that had happened before the Trials were always blanketed in a hazy cloud, and now that he thought about it, it was like the haze had thickened. The Swipe was supposed to wear away eventually which was why some of his friends had been having memories, but it wasn’t ever supposed to get stronger. Not that he could remember, anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t really thought of it like that,” Aris admitted, “But I guess you’re right. It’s more hazy than it used to be… It doesn’t make any sense.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It doesn’t. I thought that maybe it was psychological at first, like a response to all the trauma. I was going to talk to Molly about it, but… if you’re having it too, maybe it’s bigger than that. Maybe there’s more to it than what we think.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like what?” asked Aris.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teresa sighed in exasperation, “I don’t know. But I can tell that I’ve been forgetting things about our pasts. Just little memories, but ones that might be important for something. Like, hey, do you remember the history lessons we used to have?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was a long time ago, Teresa…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know. I just remember… snippets of conversation about all the organisations like WICKED and the PFC. You know, the Post Flares Coalition?” When Aris shook his head, Teresa continued, “Well, it was the PFC who released the Flare virus as population control. They created the virus, Aris. It’s remarkable, really, how badly it turned out. But anyway, it was intended for population control as there were only enough resources for seventy percent of the population after the Sun Flares. They needed to kill the other thirty percent, so they released this virus, but it </span>
  <em>
    <span>mutated</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And so WICKED was formed, in an attempt to find a cure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was such a morbid history that the world had, in response to the most appalling event to ever occur on planet Earth. The Sun Flares had hit when Aris was just four years old; he could remember sudden flashes of what it had been like, but nothing that made much sense to him. Most of their friends couldn’t remember anything from that far back, so Aris and Teresa both refrained from talking about it in case they wondered how they knew this information about their pasts. It wasn’t like they’d been very honest about still having their memories. But Teresa had told Aris a bit about her story and what she remembered - the people who found her when the virus was released in her camp a year after the Sun Flares hit; the way people turned…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m scared that something important will disappear,” said Teresa, “There’s still so much I can feel back there, just out of reach from the Swipe. I can’t bear the thought of forgetting everything that makes me who I am, you know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris refrained from saying that this was exactly what the others had all experienced, but nodded anyway, “I think we need to tell someone, Teresa. If it’s more than psychological, who knows what could happen to us? We could be a risk to ourselves and everyone else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. We’ll tell Molly, then. Do you want to go at the start of dinner so we won’t bump into anyone?” asked Teresa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This secret couldn’t stay secret much longer; not while there was clearly something bigger going on than what he’d anticipated. But one secret being revealed may lead to the other - one that would be a lot trickier to navigate.</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Aaaand let the drama commence...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Earth to shank!” came Minho’s voice, waving a hand in front of Newt’s face in an attempt to break him out of the void he hadn’t even realised he’d entered. Dinner was always a busy event, with everyone in the cafeteria at the same time after having finished work for the day. Newt preferred to just sit back and let the noise roll off his shoulders, taking the chance to take a much needed moment to himself. Even if that meant zoning out for a while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” Newt asked, shaking himself back to reality, “Sorry. Spaced out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda spoke up from beside Minho, “I was wondering if you’re still up to learning some guitar later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, right,” said Newt, “Yeah, I’m still up for that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He’d been asking Brenda to teach him how to play for a few days, but the opportunity had passed them by until now with various different things getting in the way of their evening. Newt wasn’t even sure how a guitar happened to end up in the Safe Haven, but he wasn’t complaining; he loved the evenings when Brenda would bring it out and people would start singing and dancing to the music. It was pure magic.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll probably start off quite easy with the basics, then maybe try a song if you want to,” said Brenda.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you even know how to play?” Thomas asked from beside Newt, “Surely they didn’t give you guitar lessons at WICKED?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda rolled her eyes, “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> have a life before WICKED, you know. My papa taught me after the Sun Flares. It was around the time my mum got infected, after we’d moved into one of the camps. It really helped me deal with everything that was going on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’d be proud of you, y’know,” said Gally with a warmth to his voice that sounded so foreign, “Your parents.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope so,” said Brenda with a small smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was incredibly weird seeing the two of them sending each other heart eyes across the table, as if they didn’t realise or maybe just didn’t care how obvious they were being. It was sweet that a relationship was blooming between them and Newt was not in a place to criticise them for trying to keep it low-key. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their conversation was brought to an abrupt close when Aris and Teresa appeared in the doorway to the cafeteria, beckoning desperately for their friends to join them outside. Newt glanced at Thomas who frowned but started to rise from the bench, encouraging all the others to follow his lead. They all completely abandoned their dirty plates on the table, breaking one of Frypan’s dinner rules, but nobody stopped them from walking briskly out of the cafeteria and towards a startled-looking Aris and Teresa. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” Minho asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a girl at the boundary,” said Aris as if that explained everything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A girl?” Newt asked, “Why is that-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like, she came </span>
  <em>
    <span>through</span>
  </em>
  <span> the boundary from the other side,” Teresa exclaimed, “Come see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it safe?” asked Thomas, “If she’s infected, then Newt can’t-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll stand back to be safe. Just… come on,” said Aris, beckoning for them all to follow him at a slight jog towards the north boundary of the Safe Haven.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt stayed at the back of the moving group with Thomas, his bad leg whining about the sudden infliction of exercise. Nobody spoke but everyone knew that they were all thinking the same thing: if a girl had come through the boundary, something strange must be going on. There hadn’t been anyone new to their Safe Haven since the last Berg arrived six months ago, so why now? It wasn’t like there was anyone nearby, the guards made sure of that. So where had she come from?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What were Aris and Teresa doing by the boundary?” Minho asked them when he fell back from the middle of the group to talk to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas rolled his eyes, “Just slim it and move faster, Minho.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The nine of them eventually approached the three figures standing at the base of the hill leading to the hospital, one distinctly Molly who was standing with her back to them. Newt could hear her shouting something unintelligible to the guard who held a girl loosely by her arm, a backpack in the man’s other hand. She didn’t look to be a threat, but anyone who passed the boundary would obviously be considered a danger to all the non-Immunes in the Safe Haven, even if she didn’t look sick. Newt could just make out what was being said as they drew closer:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We just heard her yelling for help, didn’t know what else to do,” the guard said, waving his free hand around in exasperation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What if she’s infected?” Molly hissed, “Then not only you, but everyone here who isn’t Immune is now at risk.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl said something, but Newt couldn’t quite hear - she was ignored anyway, Molly continuing her rant to the guard, completely unaware of the presence of their group.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure we have enough resources to test and cure everyone,” Molly continued, “Vince isn’t going to be happy about this…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m Immune!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” the girl yelled to finally be heard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This statement stopped Molly in her tracks, her shoulders eventually sagging in relief, “Well, I’ll have to test you just to be sure. Sorry, Mitch, I understand that we didn’t have protocol for this kind of thing, but we will reassess as soon as possible.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly started to guide her away from the guard, taking the backpack from his hand, moving towards the stairs leading to the hospital; the new girl suddenly glanced at Newt’s group of friends as if noticing them for the first time despite them being right out in the open. Newt’s heart leapt into his throat as she wriggled out from Molly’s loose grasp and jogged towards them, pulling something out of her pocket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Take this,” she told Aris, thrusting it into his hand, “It was in my pocket when they dropped me off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris took the balled up piece of paper wordlessly and they all watched as she turned on her heel and returned to Molly’s side as if nothing had happened. Molly glanced back at them once, finally noticing their presence, before whisking away the girl to subject her to whatever tests she deemed necessary. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence lingered over them all like a cloud of uncertainty. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What just happened?” Harriet asked eventually.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s ask him,” said Sonya as she gestured to the guard who now stood alone, taking in the last few moments with disbelief written all over his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t seem surprised when they approached him, just looked at them with an expression which said that he’d already anticipated their questioning, considering that he was clearly the one who found her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” Brenda asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I found her outside the boundary, yelling for help. No idea where she could have come from; there’s nothing for miles out there. Her backpack was full of empty water bottles,” the guard explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She said she was dropped off,” said Aris, “Did you see a Berg or a van or anything?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If there was a Berg, we all would have heard it. Those things aren’t exactly quiet as you know,” said the man, “Sorry, but I really should get back to my position. Don’t want any more harassment from Molly today.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The guard turned his back on them and wandered off in the direction of the boundary, Aris turning to face the rest of them with a solemn look on his face. None of them spoke for a moment, but all their gazes were fixed on the piece of paper that looked like it could burn a hole right the way through Aris’s hand if he left it unread for much longer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just read it already,” Newt said eventually, “It’ll do more harm not to read it. There might be some answers and we can’t ignore it forever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Some of them muttered their agreements and Aris nodded, finally unfolding the heavily crinkled paper and attempting to flatten it out to read the words. Newt watched him in agonising suspense, wishing that the boy would just hurry up and read it aloud already. Thomas could probably sense his building anxiety as he reached out and squeezed Newt’s hand reassuringly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It says…” Aris started, voice shaking slightly and face looking like he’d seen a ghost, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>What a WICKED game to play</span>
  </em>
  <span>. WICKED’s written in all caps.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked up at the group, everyone holding their breath in anticipation. They all thought that was bad enough, but Aris wasn’t finished.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And it’s signed,” he said, “PFC.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“PFC?” asked Minho, “What the shuck is that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Post Flares Coalition,” Teresa said, seemingly without thinking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone stared at the girl, expecting her to continue and explain how she knew what those three letters meant, but she remained silent, studying the floor to avoid the burning gaze of her friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We need to talk to Vince,” Gally said, splitting the silence, “I can remember…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s right,” Brenda nodded, “They’re both right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt felt a shiver run down his spine at the chilling words and hard expression painting both Gally and Brenda’s faces. Whoever the PFC were, they didn’t appear to be good people. And now that they’d sent a girl to their Safe Haven, who knew what that could mean?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The quote 'What a wicked game to play' is from the song 'Wicked Game' originally by Chris Isaak (I prefer some of the cover versions, I was listening to this song religiously whilst writing the first draft for this chapter)</p>
<p>Thank you for reading!<br/>I'm so excited to get this story out there; I've been working on it for four and a half months so far, and am currently over halfway through the final edit!<br/>This new character (the girl who just came through the boundary) is an original character of mine, and we will get to know a little more about her in upcoming chapters. She may play a rather large role in this story...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here's 2.7K of speculation and revelation. Enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Thank you all for Gathering,” Vince boomed, silencing the semi circle that had gathered around him by the beach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As soon as Vince had heard the news, he immediately called a Gathering for the entire Safe Haven. Gatherings at late notice were rare, considering that there were never really any matters quite as pressing as this, so everyone instinctively knew to keep quiet and listen intently while the man spoke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need to inform you all of something that just happened which was definitely not anticipated to ever happen,” Vince paused for a moment before continuing, “A girl entered the Safe Haven from outside the boundary. She is Immune, so don’t panic about infection; Molly tested her in the hospital and is keeping her there for the moment while she rests. She appeared to have walked quite some distance to get here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt could feel the palpable crackle of tension slicing through the air as the man went on to explain about that insinuating note and its contents. All of his friends had remained unusually quiet since Aris read the note out to them, afraid of what it might mean for them. They’d all gone six months free from WICKED and their terrible processes, and this situation just seemed too familiar for comfort - a note arriving alongside a person. How ‘WICKED’ could this get? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, topics of discussion,” said Vince, “The PFC, the note and the girl.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince held out his hands, instructing everyone to start the debate that he’d given them, and come up with some suggestions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A man who Newt recognised as one of the Fishers spoke first, “How can we know that it’s actually the PFC who signed the note? I didn’t think they were even around since WICKED was formed. It could be someone posing as the PFC or something. I’m just trying to say that we shouldn’t be sure that it’s actually them who sent the girl.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who else would bother sending a girl with a cryptic note?” a woman asked, one of the other teachers, “And how did the girl know to come here? Are we safe if the PFC knows our location?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think you’re forgetting the true intentions of the PFC from the very start of all this-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can someone please explain what this shuck PFC is?” Minho shouted out in exasperation, “Because there are some of us here who haven’t got a clue.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody spoke for a moment, suggesting that nobody was entirely sure on how to explain the actions and purpose of the PFC. To everyone’s surprise, Teresa was the one to stand despite Aris’s strange and futile efforts to pull her back down by her sleeve. His face was a picture of defeat when she managed to shake him off and come to stand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“PFC stands for Post Flares Coalition, like I told you earlier,” said Teresa, speaking directly to their group but being listened to by the entirety of the Safe Haven, “After the Sun Flares happened, they released the virus as means of population control when they realised that there weren’t enough resources for everyone. They stemmed off into WICKED when the virus mutated to try and find a cure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s right,” Gally said slowly, a frown creasing his forehead, “But you shouldn’t know any of that, Teresa.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Later,” Teresa hissed as she sat back down beside Aris, receiving many more looks of confusion from their friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gally was right. How did Teresa know that? And why was Aris so desperate to silence her? Did they know something that they hadn’t shared with the rest of them? Newt’s head was practically buzzing with conspiracies that he almost missed the fact that the debate had continued...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I personally don’t think that they’re a threat to us,” a woman said, “They were just trying to clear up the mess they made with the trials and tests they did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s like giving someone a pat on the back for cleaning up their own vomit,” Minho interrupted, “But only after they’ve let it sit there for a while. And you can’t possibly tell me that anything WICKED did to us was okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy had a point; no matter how ‘good’ you argued WICKED to be, there was no denying the fact that this was</span>
  <em>
    <span> all their fault</span>
  </em>
  <span> in the first place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we trust the girl?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s Immune and currently asleep in the hospital. Molly said she was exhausted and couldn’t tell her much about anything,” said Vince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So we’re going to let her stay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can’t exactly kick her out,” said Jeremy, another one of the teachers who worked alongside Teresa, “But we should question her when she wakes up; see where she came from and what she knows about the note.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This statement received a lot of mutterings of approval and nodding of heads, all agreeing that it would be impossible to kick out a girl who most likely had nowhere else safe to go. Plus, she might be able to give them some insight on the note she’d handed to Aris, clearly not trusting either Molly or the guard with it. Newt couldn’t blame her; she must have been so overwhelmed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The note seemed to be an apparent dig at WICKED,” said Jorge, “So why would the creators of that organisation want to do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe they didn’t agree with the direction they took? How can we know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It became clear that no clear answers were going to appear out of thin air, so Vince broke off the Gathering, allowing everyone to ‘sleep on it’ and discuss in smaller groups as the evening set in. There were so many questions with no clear answers; it was infuriating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt’s group formed a circle of their own, Brenda having run off to grab some blankets for them to share as it got cooler with the sun now mostly set. A campfire had been lit at some point, but there was none of the usual buzz that Newt had come to love in the evenings. They were all so on-edge, with minds constantly whirring.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’d love to hear your explanation, Teresa,” said Minho, “How do you know all that? Did you get a memory or something?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa glanced at Aris who gave her a look that Newt didn’t recognise, before leaning in to whisper something to the boy who muttered something in response. If there was a secret, Aris was clearly in on it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a long story,” Teresa said eventually, all eyes now on her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have all night,” said Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” said Teresa, “But you’re not going to like it. It’s why I didn’t tell you the truth in the first place, and there was no other opportunity to say, or reason to need to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas shifted uncomfortably beside Newt who subtly placed a hand over the boy’s in reassurance, but also in need to calm his own anxiety that was gradually building deep in his stomach. Whatever Teresa was trying to say clearly wasn’t about to be a ray of sunshine on them all, and Newt wished that she would just get on with it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was Thomas’s idea to insert us into the Mazes. I don’t know if you remember this, Thomas…” Teresa said, looking over to the boy, “But you hated watching your friends get hurt in there. You couldn’t stand it. You told me that your plan was to go into the Maze with your memories intact to get them all out of there. And I watched as…” Teresa cleared her throat before continuing, clearly holding back tears, “I watched as they drugged you, and took your memories away anyway…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is your point?” Thomas asked, getting more and more worked up by the second. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa closed her eyes, “They convinced me and Aris that we could go into the Mazes and help </span>
  <em>
    <span>trigger the Ending </span>
  </em>
  <span>by going in knowing things that the rest of you didn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was as if they were all holding their breaths, waiting for Teresa to finally tell them what she was trying to get at. The tension was so thick, you could have cut the air with a knife.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she still hadn’t got to the point, and Thomas finally snapped, “Just tell us, Teresa!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl looked up, a single tear rolling down her cheek as palpable silence hung heavily in the air, suffocating them all as the tension built and built before Teresa finally spoke, “They let us keep our memories.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>And that was when everything fell apart.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Newt remained silent as their group bombarded both Aris and Teresa with questions and scathing insults, nobody able to be heard properly over the cacophony of noise. People outside the group were looking over cautiously as if wondering whether they would need to step in anytime soon. They might need to at this rate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen to me!” Aris yelled just above everyone else, loud enough to silence the rest of them with his sudden outburst, “We still had the Swipe given to us, just a… modified version of it so they could make sure we remembered only what we needed to. But it’s like seeing the memories through a hazy screen. Nothing is clear. Like, I didn’t remember about the PFC, but Teresa did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t think to mention this when we needed help?” Minho asked coldly, “People have died and you two could have helped prevent that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>, we couldn’t,” said Teresa, “All we knew was that we were helping find a cure; that what we were doing would benefit so many. That was before we knew the full capabilities of WICKED…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But </span>
  <em>
    <span>still!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” yelled Minho, “You could have saved them, but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>let them die!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please just hear me out!” Teresa practically sobbed, wiping at her eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The group fell deathly quiet, sending a chill down Newt’s spine at the sudden silence. They were being listened to by perhaps the entirety of the Safe Haven.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There hasn’t been a single day where I don’t wish that I could have done something differently. I’ve been beating myself up over this for months, so I don’t need you to do it for me,” tears were falling down Teresa’s cheeks now, and Newt felt his heart twist, “They took away all the memories that might cause us to act against them. Completely took them. I only knew one side at the start, but as soon as I could see how messed up it all was…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She cut off, unable to back herself up any longer, so Aris took control of the group while he had their attention, “When Beth killed Rachel under their influence… that was when I realised. I couldn’t willingly do their dirty work after they murdered my best friend for nothing more than a Variable. You know how much that hurt?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody answered, but they didn’t have to; everyone had lost someone they were close to, so could empathise with Aris’s pain. This wasn’t their fault. It was all WICKED, yet again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s something else I need to say,” Aris said, looking over to Teresa who nodded weakly, “It’s about our memories, actually. They’ve been… disappearing at random times. Completely disappearing, as in I can’t remember where I am or </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span> I am until it all comes flooding back. I thought I should probably let you know, in case anything happened…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The information hit Newt like a bullet. This confirmed exactly what he and Sonya had suspected, but Teresa as well? That didn’t make sense, none of it did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Since when?” asked Thomas, voice strained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The first was maybe three weeks ago?” said Teresa, and Aris nodded in confirmation of this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It doesn’t happen at the same time,” said Aris, “And we have no idea what could be causing it for the both of us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonya spoke up suddenly, all eyes sliding to her, “I do. Just think about it. A random girl appears at around the same time you both get a weird type of amnesia. Her note was an obvious dig at WICKED, and what do most of us have that physically connects us to them? These.” Sonya tapped the back of her head twice at the position of their chips that WICKED had implanted in their heads.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s your point?” Gally asked sharply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My point is that maybe the amnesia could be linked to WICKED,” said Sonya, resulting in a stony wall of silence hitting them all in the face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt admired his sisters' bravery at planting this idea in their heads, considering that most of them had come to believe that they couldn’t be touched by WICKED here in the Safe Haven. Suggesting this threatened that safety blanket, and Newt could immediately see the disgust of her idea evident on some of his friends faces. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“WICKED couldn’t do that, slinthead,” Minho said incredulously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You sure about that?” Newt asked, defending his sister, “We know nothing about anything that matters. For all we know, they could.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt’s right,” said Thomas, “We can’t rule anything out at this point.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t understand what they could possibly be doing to make us keep losing our memories like this,” Teresa said, “What power do they still have over the chips?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And why is it just happening to the two of you?” Gally asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Their memories,” Hariett said quietly, looking up as the idea formed in her head, “Maybe they’re afraid of what they could remember. Something important, perhaps.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why would they need to do that?” asked Minho, “It’s not like it makes a difference to anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moments pause before Brenda spoke up, “Unless it does. Maybe the new girl knows something we don’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The girl?” asked Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>These theories were a long shot, but the best they were going to come up with until they could get answers from the mysterious girl. A lot balanced on her shoulders and she didn’t even know it yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The group decided to inform Vince of their speculations when he finally came over to see if they were okay after all the yelling, and he simply told them not to overthink it but thanks for letting him know what they thought. Newt thought that since they’d been the ones to inform him of the happenings of that evening, he might want to actually listen to them. Apparently not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We needn’t be worrying about something that might not even be true,” said Vince, “We’ll discuss this further when the girl tells us her story.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man clapped Aris on the shoulder before turning his back to them and sauntering off to talk to somebody else. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho saluted him as he walked away, “Thanks, dude. Always a pleasure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least he kind of listened,” said Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but when has just listening ever fixed anything?” Minho asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their group broke off from their own mini Gathering, but Newt stayed beside Thomas who had become mysteriously quiet. The boys sat with a blanket draped over their legs, protecting them against the slight chill that sliced through the evening air despite it being March already. The weather was often sporadic - sometimes warm in the evening, sometimes cold. But that was just a lingering effect of the Sun Flares messing up the usual climate patterns which apparently used to be a lot more stable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You okay Tommy?” Newt asked when the boy sighed quietly to himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just a lot of information for one evening,” Thomas explained, a small frown creasing his forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt nodded, “We’ve had worse.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but not for six months. That’s how long we’ve believed that we’re safe. But are we? Safe?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can never know for sure,” said Newt, “But I guess we just need to hope that the girl doesn’t come out with anything too awful tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just-” Thomas sighed, “I don’t want things to get dangerous again. I like knowing that we’re all safe here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt knew how he felt. Uncertainty had been omnipresent in their lives up until six months ago and was now once again taunting them from the sidelines. But nothing he could say would suffice until this tangible atmosphere of apprehension and anxiety passed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll get through it. We always get through it,” Newt said in an almost desperate attempt to extinguish that distant look in Thomas’s eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It brought him back to all the times they hadn’t known where they were going or what they were doing, or how to pass one hurdle or another. Newt had really hoped that the Safe Haven would mean exactly that. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Safe. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But sometimes some things were simply too good to be true, and maybe this was one of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I really hope you’re right,” Thomas murmured.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This includes a modified extract from The Fever Code (originally from Thomas's POV but now from Aris's) in the form of a dream/memory. It’s from the point in the book when Thomas, Teresa, Aris and Rachel were carrying out the ‘Purge’ of all the Cranks in the WICKED headquarters.<br/>This chapter's kind of short, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.<br/>Introducing... the new girl!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> A large bubble entered Aris’s field of vision from the right, just a few feet away. It jiggled and shimmered with an oily sheen, distorting the image as it floated closer, coming to a stop directly above him.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Aris pointed towards the door labelled D-17, and Thomas pressed his ear up against it. Teresa asked if he could hear anything coming from inside, but Thomas shook his head.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “No, wait.” he said, “Yeah - there’s at least one awake.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Aris was holding a huge Launcher under his arm, alongside Rachel who also held one. Thomas had his hands full of syringes, and Teresa simply held a gun. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Teresa used her free hand to push open the door, and the stench of body odor and rotting breath wafted out. Thomas led them inside, and it became obvious that this was a gathering spot. A man lay on a couch, arm dangling off the side, and another man lay sprawled out by his feet. Two women lay side by side on the floor, arms draped around each other, and the final man sat upright in a chair, head lolling back and snores erupting from his open mouth.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Aris and Rachel quickly stepped up to the groups, raising their Launchers. A moment of silence passed before they pulled the triggers, and an electronic whine filled the air, shortly followed by a series of cracks. Blue lightning lit up the air as the bodies convulsed with electricity.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Now!” Aris yelled to Thomas, “Here, I’ll help you.”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He took some syringes from Thomas, passing one to Rachel. Teresa kept her gun trained on the spasming bodies as the three of them approached.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thomas acted first - he ran to the two men on the floor, and his thumb pressed against the dispenser when he stabbed the two needles into their necks. Rachel took care of the man in the chair, and Aris finished up with the women on the ground.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Before they could celebrate, though, the door from the hallway banged open, and four Cranks burst into the room. One jumped on Aris before he could shoot with the Launcher, sprawling on his back, and the woman reached for his throat. He saw Rachel running towards him out the corner of his eye, and she rammed the hard tip of the Launcher into the side of the woman’s head. She shrieked, and toppled off of him, before Rachel swiftly shot a grenade into her chest. He felt stunned for a moment, but pulled out a knife from somewhere in his pocket and rammed it into the woman’s chest, shrieking with rage. But the electricity hadn’t dissipated enough, so he was flown backwards with a jolt of energy, knocking Rachel to the floor in his wake. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It was a blur after that - Thomas being tackled to the floor, Teresa aiming her gun and shooting the man in the back. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “There’s two more,” Thomas said. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> But there were none left in the room with them - they must be hiding behind the sofas or chairs clustered around the room. They each made their way from chair to chair, peeking behind them. Teresa screamed, and disappeared behind a chair, but he was too far away to help her. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He heard the distinctive shot of a Launcher from behind him, and turned to see Rachel sink a syringe into the man’s neck.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Another shot echoed from the direction of Thomas and Teresa, and Aris ran towards them, fearful of what he may find. But they were okay - Teresa was trembling in Thomas’s arms, and Aris put a hand on the boy’s shoulder but Thomas didn’t turn to look. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Where’s the other one?” Thomas asked, “There should be one more.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Rachel got him,” Aris replied, “Don’t worry. They’re all dead.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thomas clung on to Teresa, and sighed “I can’t take much more of this.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Rachel responded from somewhere nearby. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Six,” she said, “There’s only six left.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The image expanded, then suddenly… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> … the bubble popped. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Aris sat up, gasping for breath, tangled up in his duvet and blankets. He ran a shaky hand through his hair which was plastered to the side of his face, skin tingling with heat. He suddenly felt too hot, in desperate need of cool air against his skin. With his head swimming, he grabbed the nearest clothes he could find and stumbled out into the cool morning, through the metal door that he was too careless to worry about making a noise at that moment. Aris took in huge lungfuls of air as he leaned against the brick wall of the block of dorms, trying to steady himself and focus on not passing out.</p><p>Eventually, after what felt like hours but was probably only minutes, Aris’s breathing returned to its usual pace, his head no longer feeling fuzzy as he stuffed his freezing hands deep into his coat pockets and started walking slowly away from the dorms, in no particular direction. </p><p>He just needed to walk, and breathe, and <em> think </em>. </p><p>Aris knew his dreams were not connected to reality, but this one had felt... different somehow. He tried to recall the dream, but all he could remember was an intense feeling of fear that had been so consuming. Details of it had completely disappeared from his memory; shattered into nothingness.</p><p>He spent a while walking across the Safe Haven and eventually found himself at the bottom of the small staircase leading up to the hospital. He sat down on the bottom step, looking out towards where the sky was turning a beautiful shade of pink right before his eyes. Milky clouds hung around the horizon, fading against the colourful sky like they could simply melt into it.</p><p>“Who are you?” a voice said from behind him, making him jump.</p><p>Aris whipped his head around to see who it was and noticed the female figure stood just a few steps above him, watching him with curiosity in her eyes. </p><p>
  <em> It was the new girl. </em>
</p><p>He felt a sudden tug of fear when he realised that he had no idea whether she was safe to even be around, “Um… I’m Aris.”</p><p>The girl walked down the rest of the steps, coming to sit right beside him and placing her chin in her hands, leaning her elbows against her knees and looking right out towards the ocean. She looked almost hypnotised by it, but Aris didn’t dare to tear his eyes away from her.</p><p>“I’m Julia,” she said eventually, “Where am I?”</p><p>“This is a Safe Haven. Near Portland, Oregon apparently,” Aris explained.</p><p>He watched Julia cautiously, wary of her presence but also noticing how pale her skin seemed in comparison to her evidently sleep-deprived eyes, despite the hours of sleep she had got last night. </p><p>Julia caught him staring, and shot him a weak smile, dimples cutting delicately into her cheeks. “I’m not going to hurt you,” she explained, “Or anyone else.”</p><p>Aris nodded slowly, “That’s good to know.”</p><p>She laughed at the boy, the sound ringing delicately through the morning stillness, as she raked a hand through the dark mass of wavy hair trailing down her back. </p><p>“Where did you come from?” Aris asked quietly, “Except for outside the boundary, obviously.”</p><p>“I… don’t know.” Julia admitted, nibbling on one of her nails nervously. </p><p>“What like, you can’t remember?” </p><p>“Kind of, it’s… complicated. A long story,” said Julia.</p><p>“Well, I have all morning,” Aris joked, “But you don’t have to explain anything to me now if you don’t want to.”</p><p>Julia sighed, “I wouldn’t know where to start.”</p><p>“Maybe start with what you first remember?</p><p>His curiosity was building with every moment she remained seated beside him, but he didn’t want to be pushy. The truth would come out eventually. But Aris wasn't sure he could have ever prepared himself for the bombshell that Julia was about to drop:</p><p>“Then I guess the story starts when I woke up in that dusty, metal lift…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>'Dusty, metal lift'?<br/>Sound familiar??<br/>;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>His leg had stiffened in the night. Newt could feel the tension seeping through the muscles as soon as he woke up, and he groaned both in agony and irritance. He sat up with it still outstretched and started to work his hands across where it was most painful just above and below his knee. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Of course</span>
  </em>
  <span> the bloody thing would choose to play up on the day he needed it to cooperate for field work; what good would he be today if he could hardly move one of his legs? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt sighed and looked over to Thomas’s bed to see if the boy was awake yet, but was met by the sight of the covers pushed to the edge, exposing a very Thomas-less mattress. His breath instantly caught in his throat and he tried to force down the pang of anxiety which was spreading; setting his whole body alight. Newt tried to breathe for a moment and try to remember what Molly had told him to do in this situation. But he couldn’t think, his whole mind consumed with one single thought: where the bloody hell was Thomas?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Wincing with pain, Newt lowered his bad leg off of the bed and attempted to stand up. Fire shot up his muscles but still he moved forward, one foot in front of the other. It was as if he was being driven forward purely by his anxiety and the force of his pounding heart, leading him towards the door of their dorm room. Newt eventually reached it and pushed through to expose the outside world, hardly taking in the pastel pink hues of the sky. Just as he was about to step through the doorway, he knocked directly into someone who was trying to enter at the same time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Thomas.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt? What are you doing?” Thomas asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took a moment for Newt to collect himself, eventually releasing his grasp on Thomas’s forearms that he hadn’t even realised he’d grabbed hold of, “Uh… looking for you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hadn’t meant for it to come out as a question and Newt could have kicked himself for it; he didn’t need to worry Thomas with this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But now Thomas was frowning, “Why? Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now that the anxiety was subsiding, the pain in Newt’s leg was becoming almost unbearable after being worked despite it’s angry request not to be. His face must have contorted in pain as he tried to relieve it of the weight, shifting it all onto his good leg, because Thomas reached out to act as a much needed crutch. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, back to bed,” he said quietly, considering that their friends seemed to all still be asleep for now, having not heard Newt clattering the door open in his sudden desperation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where did you go?” Newt whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas lifted up a small, slightly steaming cloth in his free hand that Newt hadn’t realised he’d been holding, “You were muttering in your sleep about your leg. I figured that I could get you something warm for it when you woke up if it was still hurting you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt didn’t know what to say; the fact that Thomas had been so thoughtful made his heart swell slightly with adoration. No one else would ever be quite that considerate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Tommy,” he said as the boy helped him back down onto his bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t thank me,” said Thomas, “Is it okay if I roll up the leg?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was referring to the leg of Newt’s trousers and he nodded, desperate for some kind of relief that he knew the steaming cloth could provide him. Thomas’s hands were gentle as he rolled the fabric with deft fingers, and he placed the cloth on the area that he knew was always the most troublesome. Newt immediately relaxed as heat flooded through his muscles, tipping his head back against the wall behind his bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Better?” Thomas asked and Newt didn’t have to look at the boy to tell that he was smiling slightly at his reaction to the relief the cloth provided.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Much,” Newt replied, “Thank you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would a massage help?” Thomas asked as he moved his hand gently over the cloth as if tempting Newt with one of the massages that he was always so brilliant at giving. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You really don’t have to,” Newt said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this enough pressure?” asked Thomas with that enchanting smile on his face, “Or do you want more?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt sighed and gave in to the boy’s kindness, “Yeah, Tommy. That’s good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It clearly wasn’t as early as the previous morning as light was pouring into the room through the cracks in the door, illuminating the floor of their dorm room. The others were never morning people like Newt and Thomas usually were, so it was no surprise that they all appeared to still be asleep as morning dawned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what are you doing today?” Thomas asked quietly as he continued to apply that glorious pressure which was easing the pain more and more by the second, “More field stuff, I assume?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’re planting for the growing season now,” said Newt, “Which is why I need this damn leg to cooperate today. Oh, it’s nice there. The pressure really helps.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas nodded, “Is it going to take all day?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A large portion of it, I expect,” Newt replied, “Why, Tommy? Want to help us out? We could always use an extra pair of hands.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, I can,” Thomas said, not understanding that Newt was joking, “If you need to sit out and rest your leg, I could cover for you...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No offense, but you know next to nothing about gardening,” said Newt, a smile spreading across his face, “I was just kidding.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas met Newt’s gaze, looking rather sheepish, “Oh, right. Well, you know my offer still stands.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long until some of their friends started shifting in bed and groaning when they realised that it was morning already. Newt looked up when he heard feet padding gently across the room towards his bed, to see Sonya approaching with a huge yawn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Morning,” she whispered as she rubbed at her eyes, “Have you seen Aris by any chance?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not in his bunk?” Newt asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonya shook her head, “He might be in the cafeteria. I’d better check, though, just in case,” she paused when she finally noticed that Thomas was massaging Newt’s leg, “Oh, is it playing up again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but it’ll be fine,” Newt reassured her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled like she wasn’t sure what else to say, glancing between the boys once before turning her back on them to go and find Aris. They were right to be cautious after what he and Teresa had told them about the amnesia because they couldn’t know what the two of them might do in that situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I’ll be able to try and walk on it again, now,” Newt said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Think you can walk down to the cafeteria?” asked Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, you might need to give me a hand, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas laughed but nodded, knowing before he’d even mentioned it that Newt would need to lean on him for support again. His leg always took a while to warm up and get used to moving after being stiff, which was why it had caused him so much pain when he hadn't listened to his screaming muscles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boys quickly slipped on some clothes, Newt doing so from a seated position. Gally let out an exaggeratedly loud yawn and someone threw a pillow at his head to try and shut him up so they could get just a few more minutes of sleep. It was a futile attempt, really, because the boy ended up putting the pillow under his own head, smiling smugly at his victory. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready?” Thomas asked as he extended out an arm towards Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, let’s go.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took up the offer of support, Thomas snaking an arm around his waist and Newt throwing an arm around the boy’s shoulders. As he limped towards the door, it reminded him a lot of the first time he’d come out of the hospital after being shot in Denver. Thomas had been there for him through it all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The morning was crisp and instantly refreshing, but it caused Newt’s leg to instantly seize back up. He let out a grunt of pain, but continued to force one foot in front of the other as he walked against Thomas. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before they reached the cafeteria, some warmth having returned to Newt’s muscles, much to his relief. Sonya appeared out of the doorway, a frown creasing her forehead as she scratched the back of her neck and looked around the Safe Haven. So maybe Aris wasn’t in there, after all. She confirmed this after she’d jogged over to the boys, closing the slight distance between them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know where else he could be,” Sonya said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe he went for a walk,” said Newt, “We could help you look for him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt tried not to fear the worst, but couldn’t help the anxiety from crashing through him at the idea of something having happened to Aris if he’d woken up without his memories and gone wandering. There were no dangers inside the Safe Haven, except maybe the new girl, so Newt tried not to fear the worst. He’d have to trust that the boy was nearby and was safe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not with your leg,” said Sonya, “I’ll just have a look around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was gone before Newt could even think about complaining, but he threw his free hand up in the air in exasperation. Thomas had the cheek to laugh at him, so Newt punched him lightly on the arm before unwinding himself from the boy; he figured that if he was struggling to walk by himself now, he’d have no chance in the fields later on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sure he’s okay,” said Thomas, “I can tell your mind is working on overdrive in there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt sighed but took the boy's hand in his own - he could always somehow tell when Newt was spiralling. With a sudden burst of bravery he didn’t know he had, Newt decided to tell him. To explain what he had been too afraid to explain until now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Tommy? Can I tell you something?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course,” said Thomas who came to sit beside Newt at one of the benches inside the cafeteria.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt broke eye contact when he realised that he was actually going to do this; to share his secret with Thomas. Sensing his nerves, Thomas took his hand and started tracing his knuckles with his thumb in reassurance without needing to use words. The small gesture made Newt realise that he really was doing the right thing in sharing this with him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s kind of hard for me to talk about,” Newt confessed, “It’s just… well, you know I’ve been seeing Molly about the nightmares. But I’ve also been seeing her about these… urges I’ve been getting. She calls them compulsions, I guess. It’s not serious or anything, just like the urge to make sure that everyone is actually okay and, y’know... alive…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Woah, hold up,” said Thomas, “Compulsions? Newt, don’t you dare downplay this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry, I just... I don’t know how to talk about this,” Newt admitted as he squeezed his eyes closed in frustration with himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay,” whispered Thomas, “In your own time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt took a deep breath, “It’s like… I just completely lose control to it and can’t even think properly until I give in and double check. This morning, when you were gone, I felt it. And I used to wake up convinced that someone was dead…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt clenched his fists, nails pricking painfully into his palm in an attempt to calm himself down. But he’d done it - he’d told Thomas the truth, and he was still in one piece.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt, I...” Thomas started, “I’m so</span>
  <em>
    <span> sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt shook his head, “No, it’s not your fault. It’s nobody’s fault. It’s actually been a little better recently, but sometimes I’ll wake up and be so convinced that something’s happened to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And I can’t stand it..”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas’s eyes filled with tears at this statement, threatening to spill down his cheeks. It made Newt’s heart ache even more than it already was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish I could take it all away,” Thomas whispered when he pulled Newt into a tight hug, “You know that, right? All the pain you feel? I would take it all, if I could. I </span>
  <em>
    <span>wish</span>
  </em>
  <span> I could.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Tommy. Thank you.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Today marks five months since I first opened the document to start writing 'The Safe Haven'.<br/>A week before starting this story, I wrote 'a place to call home' after finishing reading the Death Cure. This was the first proper thing I'd ever written (apart from the random stories I wrote when I was younger.)<br/>Basically what I'm trying to say is...<br/>Happy five month anniversary to this story!</p>
<p>I'm not sure what I would have done without it during lockdown.</p>
<p>Again, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter with some (a lot) more plot development and Julia content.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Aris was sitting on a desk in one of the classrooms between Sonya and Harriet after Molly had called them and the Gladers into a meeting. He wasn’t surprised after his talk with Julia, and had known that Molly would want to talk to them all as soon as she found out. Aris hadn’t told anyone what Julia had told him, mostly because he couldn't quite believe it himself and knew that the others would need to hear it for themselves. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia was now standing beside Molly at the front of the room and nervously fiddling with her hands. It was probably extremely daunting to be standing in front of a room mostly full of strangers with no idea whether or not she was going to actually be listened to and accepted. Aris hadn’t told her anything about any of them that could be detrimental, even though he believed that she could be trusted. Just wait until the others heard her story.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So this is Julia,” said Molly, “I’ll let her explain everything, but I thought that you guys should probably hear this first before you hear it from anyone else. Julia, when you’re ready.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly stepped aside and sat down in a chair, allowing Julia to take center stage. She made eye contact with each of them in turn, as if assessing them all individually, before her gaze met Aris’s. He gave her a smile and a nod of reassurance, hoping that it would be enough to spark the confidence she’d had with him alone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia tightened the band holding half of her hair off her face and gave the room a nervous smile, “Uh, hi everyone. I just wanted to say sorry about giving you guys the note yesterday without any explanation. I guess I felt like I could trust you what with being the same age. It was in my pocket when they dropped me off but I didn’t read it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who dropped you off?” Gally asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’ll get to that,” Molly responded, “Just… carry on, Julia.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, well… it’s kind of hard to explain because I only have memories from a certain point, so I guess I’ll just start from there because that’s all I have, really,” Julia sighed, “I woke up in a moving box, or lift, that took me up into this enclosed place surrounded by huge walls with ivy and four openings on each side which led out into a maze…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, stop,” Minho interrupted, “Is this some shuck joke?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not supposed to be funny, so no,” Julia retorted, looking at the boy as if daring him to cross her again. She had a lot of nerve standing up to Minho’s sarcasm, Aris had to admit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When nobody else tried to interrupt, she continued, “I couldn’t remember anything but my name, so I was already panicking when the top of the box opened and thirty or so girls and boys were staring down at me. Their leader, Jane, explained everything to me. She said that there had been a new arrival every week for four months since the first lot arrived together. The walls closed every night, to keep out the monsters that lived in there… wait, why are you guys nodding like that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before any of them could reply, Molly told Julia to keep talking and to finish her story. But she was already looking at them as if she’d worked it out already, confusion etched across her face as she bit anxiously at her lip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, okay. Well, I’d only been there a few days before they started planning their way out of the Maze using the maps and code that none of them had drawn but had been there when they’d arrived. They’d been using them to see the Maze for themselves.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The maps were already there?” Minho asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia nodded, “Yeah, they’d been untouched from the destruction that was there when the first lot arrived. My friend Ash said that it had taken them a while to clear it up and make the place liveable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia paused, clearly unsure whether or not she should continue or answer more questions. The silence hung thick, but was soon broken by Thomas asking a question of his own, “Was there a wall with names carved into it by any chance?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There was,” Julia said, looking at Thomas intently as if wondering how he knew that, “But none of us had done it. Jane said it was there when they first arrived. But the funny thing was, they were all male names. Only one female.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was then that Minho snapped, jumping off the desk he was sat on and walking towards the other end of the room. He ran a hand across his face in exasperation, with a huge sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong?” Julia asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris could tell that she was starting to piece it all together. With Thomas knowing about the names and all of their reactions to her story so far, it wasn’t hard to work out that they had been put through the same thing she had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay Greenie,” said Minho, “Let me spell it out for you. That Maze you were in was the same one that I spent two years running through and mapping out and fighting for survival in. For </span>
  <em>
    <span>two years</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you hear me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To Aris’s surprise, it was Gally that managed to stop the boy from pacing and pull him back into a seat, “Just slim it, alright? Let the shank finish her story without you yapping on about your sorry little life.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia seemed shocked by this outburst, frozen to the spot. If she hadn’t guessed it already, she now knew the truth. And she was probably having as much of a hard time processing it as the rest of them were with processing her story.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, you used the code to escape?” Molly prompted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” said Julia, returning her focus to her own story, “The code you wrote got us out through the hole those monsters came out of. Honestly, if it wasn’t for all your detail on the maps and the code then we would have definitely spent a lot longer trying to get out. So, I should probably thank you for that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho’s hard expression softened slightly at Julia’s appreciation for their work. It was clear that he’d put everything into those maps during his two years in the Glade. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Only eighteen of us survived. The others were taken by those monsters. But as soon as we were out, we were met by a group of people in uniform who took us up in a lift, into a huge building that we spent the next two years in. They called themselves WICKED, but I’m sure you already knew that. They explained about the Sun Flares and the virus and the cure, and why they had to do this to us, but they failed to explain that you guys had already been through the Maze. We were put through simulations and loads of tests to extract an enzyme from our brains to study it and experiment. My friends and I stayed in a dorm room, boys and girls separated, and we spent all our time there except for testing, like we were some sort of prisoners. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It went on like that for a while until a woman took me out of there, into a huge flying thing. She put the note in my pocket and gave me a compass, telling me to head south until I found people. I walked for two days with only the backpack full of water and snacks, until I saw one of your guards. I was so close to passing out by then that the only thing I could think to do was yell for help.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If anything was going to prove that things weren’t how they thought they were, it was this. WICKED were still out there, doing all these terrible things even though they’d already found a cure. None of it made any sense. But all of the others looked just as gobsmacked as Aris felt, not knowing what to make of this situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So it was WICKED that dropped you off?” Frypan asked, “Did you know the woman?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia shook her head, “I’d seen her around before but she wasn’t a guard or anything. It felt more like I was being smuggled out or rescued or something, to be honest. WICKED wouldn’t do that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does the PFC mean anything to you?” Thomas asked, “The people who signed the note?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing, sorry,” said Julia as she pinched the bridge of her nose.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl really did look exhausted, and considering the distance she must have travelled, Aris wasn’t surprised. He couldn’t imagine being dumped in the middle of nowhere with a single direction and a limited life source on your back. And then to find people who had been through similar to what she had, that had to be a lot to process. It definitely wasn’t a coincidence, though. Whoever it was that had got Julia out of WICKED must have known where their Safe Haven was, to have told her to head south. That would be something Vince would want to consider because their location was supposed to be unknown to the rest of the world, minus the people in association with the Right Arm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” said Molly, coming to stand beside Julia, “I think that’s enough excitement for one morning. I have one more test to run anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia nodded, “Whatever you need to do. It was nice meeting you all. Sorry I couldn’t give you any more answers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t apologise,” said Sonya, “It’s nice to meet you, Julia.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl was escorted out of the classroom by Molly, leaving the group alone in the classroom. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All was silent before the eruption of noise and speculation began:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is completely crazy-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This whole shuck situation-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I cannot believe-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s WICKED!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last was Teresa, voice just loud enough to be heard above all the others, silencing the room, “We thought that WICKED were gone, but they’re clearly not. They found a cure, but they’re still running tests. We should be asking: what for?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe it wasn’t substantial enough or didn’t do what they were expecting. Maybe there’s something wrong with it.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Previously...</p>
<p>“We thought that WICKED were gone, but they’re clearly not. They found a cure, but they’re still running tests. We should be asking: what for?”<br/>“Maybe it wasn’t substantial enough or didn’t do what they were expecting. Maybe there’s something wrong with it.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A direct continuation of the previous chapter from Newt's POV.<br/>Warning for descriptions of a panic attack at the start (in case that's upsetting for anyone.)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Panic seized Newt’s lungs, an invisible hand squeezing, squeezing at his throat. He couldn’t remember when the first breath came as a stuttering gasp, but he could remember how all the voices bled into one against the ever increasing ringing in his ears. The room was shrinking and shrinking and </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh God he couldn’t breathe.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt couldn’t remember standing up and rushing out of the room but the air outside did nothing to fill his lungs which were screaming for air but constricting, constricting, constricting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He remembered covering his ears in a desperate attempt to stop the ringing but it wasn’t working and nothing was working. He was suddenly on his knees with his head in his hands and was shaking uncontrollably but couldn’t even remember when that had started. Dampness clung to his cheeks but he could hardly tell that the huge gasps of breath were actually sobs coming in random and sporadic bursts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then hands were on his shoulders and someone was kneeling beside him. He could vaguely hear them trying to get his attention and tell him to breathe with them; to copy their breathing. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on Newt, breathe with me. Inhale, exhale, inhale, that’s it. Keep breathing, I’m right here. You’re doing great. Inhale, exhale, inhale…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before he realised that the squeezing feeling had subsided and that his lungs were actually working how they were supposed to. There was a hand on his back, rubbing small, comforting circles, and Newt was unsurprised to see that it was Thomas who was kneeling beside him when he finally opened his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What… what just happened?” Newt asked shakily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You had a panic attack,” said Thomas, “At least that’s what it looked like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt really wasn’t surprised when he thought back to the conversation that had been happening before he’d rushed from the room. He felt his breath catch in his throat at the memory, but managed to swallow back the sob that threatened to escape his lips. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh God, this couldn’t be happening.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay,” Thomas said before pulling Newt into a hug, “We’ll work this out. I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Tommy. And thank you for… y’know… helping me put air in my lungs,” said Newt, his voice slightly muffled against Thomas’s neck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t mention it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt would have stayed like that, in Thomas’s warm embrace, but he knew that he needed to explain himself and get his concerns off his chest. If he wasn’t careful, it would slowly begin to suffocate him again. And he definitely didn’t fancy having another one of those panic episodes again if he could help it. There was only so much one person could deal with alone before everything came crashing down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s just…” Newt sighed, pulling back to look Thomas in the eye, “What they were saying about the cure… I can’t deal with that, Tommy. I can’t cope with the possibility of somehow still being sick. I can’t go through that again, I can’t put </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>through that again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt,” Thomas said gently, “You’re not sick. You remember how it felt, don’t you? When you first started showing symptoms?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt nodded grimly, “I could never forget that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Exactly. So you’d know if you were. But if you’re still doubting it and what to put your mind to rest, we can go and ask Molly to run a test now, if you’d like?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe I should. Just to be safe. I haven’t had one in months.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas offered a hand to help pull Newt to his feet and he didn’t let go, twining their fingers together with a smile. It was like a promise that he would always be right here by Newt’s side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re going to be okay,” said Thomas, “Trust me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was only a short trip to the hospital considering that they were already near the north of the Safe Haven, but it was safe to say that most of the lingering remnants of the panic attack had almost completely dissipated. All Newt could feel now was an underlying gnawing anxiety in his gut. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When the boys approached the hospital, they found Julia sitting alone on the top step, literally twiddling her thumbs together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Julia,” said Newt, “Everything okay?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, fine. I just needed a minute alone. It’s been a little hectic so far.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas smiled at her reassuringly, “Things aren’t usually so crazy around here. Your arrival kind of started a bit of a freak out, hence why everyone was so on edge back there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry about that,” said Julia, “Um… I didn’t catch your names?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’m Newt and this is Thomas.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t help but notice the way Julia’s eyes flicked down to their now separated hands for just a second, and Newt wondered whether she’d noticed them from afar. Even if she had, she didn’t say anything about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, it’s nice to meet you both,” she said with a warm smile, “But please, don’t let me stop you from doing whatever you need to. I’ve already caused enough disruption as it is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We just need to talk to Molly,” said Newt, “Hopefully we’ll see you later so you can properly meet everyone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia nodded and shifted along the step to allow the boys to pass, “Yeah, definitely. I’ll see you around.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See you Julia.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt had to admit that she seemed nice and was definitely very friendly already, though he knew that it would take a while for the girl to gain his full trust. But then, what better way was there to bond than over the cruel practices of WICKED?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly looked up from her desk when she noticed Newt and Thomas enter the hospital, a look of surprise washing over her face. She stopped what she was doing to give Newt her full attention as he explained that he wanted to be tested for the Flare. He was grateful that she didn’t immediately ask questions, but could tell that she would eventually. She always did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll need to take a small sample of blood,” said Molly, “Then I’ll test it for you, which should only take a few minutes.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt knew this procedure well after having had his blood tested for a few days after receiving the cure and arriving in the Safe Haven. It felt strange to be back in the hospital after going months without being in here, and it brought back memories of those first few days of recovery. Most of the memories involved Thomas, considering that he’d barely left Newt’s side the entire time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even now, Thomas perched on the bed opposite the one Newt was sitting on, a reminder that he didn’t have to go through this alone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks for this, Molly,” Newt said as she prepared the equipment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s no problem,” she said, “Ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt nodded but looked away when she started cleaning the area on his arm - despite having had this done countless times before, the idea of having a needle in his veins still made him squirm. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Does it help if you’re distracted?” asked Thomas, noticing his slight discomfort.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It does, actually,” Newt admitted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Want me to tell you a story? If that would help?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes please,” said Newt, smiling at how perceptive Thomas could be. Sometimes he could read Newt like an open book.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy cleared his throat before starting his story, “I remember when I first came up in the box, and you were one of the first to greet me. Alby wasn’t sure about what to say to me. He said that I was the first Greenbean since Nick was killed. Then you stepped forward and slapped him over the head, and then that </span>
  <em>
    <span>British accent </span>
  </em>
  <span>came out.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt couldn’t help but laugh as the memory swum through his head, barely noticing when Molly inserted the needle into his skin. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You told him to wait for the ‘bloody tour’,” Thomas said, putting on a terrible British accent, “I can still remember the first thing you said to me: ‘name’s Newt, Greenie, and we’d all be right cheery if you’d forgive out klunk-for-brains new leader here’.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And then Alby said something about you at least being able to understand half his words,” Newt said with a grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas nodded, “That’s right. I got used to the accent eventually. But I was always so intrigued by you…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh?” Newt raised an eyebrow, “And why was that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was definitely just the accent.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt kicked him playfully on the ankle for his sarcasm and Thomas kicked back, resulting in a foot wrestle between the two of them. Thomas won, unsurprisingly, considering that he wasn’t the one who was having blood taken, and squeezed Newt’s foot between his own, shooting him a victorious smile. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked so adorable.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s all done,” said Molly, “I’ll test the sample, see how you’re looking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt hadn’t noticed Molly finishing taking his blood or placing some cotton wool and tape over the area. Apparently Thomas was a very good distraction.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The first time you called me Tommy,” he said, “It was that morning after Ben was banished, and we watched Minho at the doors.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hadn’t even realised I’d started calling you that. It just slipped out. It felt so familiar, so </span>
  <em>
    <span>right,</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think you called me that before the Maze? If we were friends, that is,” Thomas asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm. Probably.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His attention suddenly snapped away from Thomas when he heard Molly fiddling with some equipment and muttering to herself. He couldn’t help but feel another tug of anxiety in his gut, in case she found something that none of them wanted to find. Newt knew that he was probably clear of the virus, but the slight possibility that he might not be made him feel sick. Thomas must have sensed his change in demeanor because he came to perch tentatively beside Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He placed a hand over the one that Newt was subconsciously gripping the mattress with, “It’s going to be fine. Just you wait and see.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt gave him a small smile of gratitude which was all he could muster with the sudden surge of adrenaline rushing through his body.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you remember that pep talk Minho gave us before we all left the Glade and entered the Maze?” Thomas asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Be careful. Don’t die,” said Newt, “How bloody inspiring is that shank?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>Thomas let out a soft chuckle, “He was never one for emotions. He still isn’t. But you did a lot better than he did. You somehow made me feel brave. You gave us all the courage to do what we did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt looked up to meet Thomas’s gaze and was met with such sincerity and kindness that almost forgot about Molly in the corner of the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Almost.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I’m pleased I made you feel that way, Tommy,” Newt said quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Out of the corner of his eye, Newt noticed Molly begin to walk back across the room towards the boys, snapping them from their little bubble. His heart instantly sped up, propelling him off the bed and into an upright position to hear what she had to say.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So?” he asked, voice an octave higher than usual.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All clear. No virus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that was all Newt needed to hear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let out a huge sigh of relief and Thomas instantly pulled into a hug, swaying them slightly from side to side, “See? You’re okay, Newt. You’re okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly subtly cleared her throat, a gentle reminder that they were not alone. So Newt reluctantly unwound himself from Thomas, a small sheepish grin on his face as he turned to face Molly. He figured that her questioning would begin now that the medical stuff was out of the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Newt said,  “I really appreciate it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, that’s okay. I’d like to know why you wanted to get tested, though. Have you had any symptoms?” asked Molly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt flopped back onto the bed, his prediction having been correct, and was shortly joined by Thomas who returned to his previous position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Newt admitted, “But I, uh… I kind of panicked when the others were talking after you left. They were speculating about whether the cure was temporary or might wear off or something. So I just wanted to be sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The cure itself is very complex,” Molly explained, “We don’t know if it causes the enzyme to reproduce in your body or if it simply does its bit and gets out of there. Unfortunately, the only people who might have the answers are the people who extracted it in the first place. I wish I could give you some more reassurance, but all I can say is that you’re clear and that’s all that matters for the moment. You said that you panicked before? Like a panic attack?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it was.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly asked how bad it had been, but it was as if Newt’s brain had completely shut down during that moment of pure, intense panic and he simply couldn’t remember anything but that feeling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t really know…” Newt admitted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’d say it looked pretty intense,” Thomas suggested, “I mean, obviously I don’t know how it felt for you, but… it seemed quite extreme.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were there?” Molly asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I helped him to breathe because I could tell that he couldn’t. I got him to breathe with me,” said Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well done, Thomas. It can be hard to know what to do in that situation,” Molly turned to Newt, eyes shining, “Your boy is a good’un.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… uh… i mean,” he stammered, “We’re not… uh…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas punched him playfully on the arm and had the utter audacity to wink and say, “I like to think that I am.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt couldn’t help the blush that rose to his cheeks as he groaned internally. He knew it was only Molly and she wouldn’t make a fuss, but </span>
  <em>
    <span>still. </span>
  </em>
  <span>So much for subtlety. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boys stood up from the bed once Molly had given them a knowing smile and returned to her work desk. Newt looked to Thomas with his eyebrows raised, feigning exasperation, but the boy simply leaned in to whisper, “It’s cute when you blush.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was momentarily shocked to say the least, the statement definitely not helping the light dusting of pink across his cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shank,” Newt said eventually, nudging Thomas’s shoulder with his own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was at that exact moment that a soft voice came from the doorway, making them both jump and spring slightly apart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You guys are cute.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia was watching them with a small smile on her face, chuckling slightly at the shocked expressions on both of their faces. She pincered his finger and thumb, pulling them across her lips in a zipper motion. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Okay, so she definitely knew.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas saluted the girl before tugging a cringing Newt past her, out through the hospital doors.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh, what a morning it’s been.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. eleven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There's no plot in this chapter, just a heads up.<br/>But you're going to get a lovely tour of the Safe Haven with Aris and Julia, so...<br/>Enjoy ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Hey, Aris! Wait up!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was on his way to the fields, walking alone, when someone started calling for his attention, however he was confused when he couldn’t instantly place the voice like he usually could with all of his friends. That was until he turned to where the voice had come from and noticed Julia jogging up to him from the direction of the hospital.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hey,” he said, unable to keep the initial surprise from his voice. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, fine. Does everyone ask that around here?” Julia asked with a frown.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nevermind,” she said, visibly shaking off the thought with a smile. “I just wanted to ask you something, actually. Molly said that I’d be moving into the dorms tonight because there’s no reason for me to stay in the hospital, and she thinks it’ll be safer if I know my way around and like… how things work around here. And I know we just met and you told me nothing about yourself which is obviously fine, like, I wouldn’t have if I’d been in your position. But I was wondering if you maybe wouldn’t mind showing me around for a bit?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It appeared that Julia had spoken all of that in one single breath, and was now looking at Aris with a mixture of nervousness and expectancy in her eyes. It took Aris a few seconds to realise what her actual question was amongst the ramble, before he responded with a simple, “Yeah, sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia’s face lit up as if he’d just flipped a switch, “Really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. I mean, I have to ask Newt if it’ll be okay for someone to cover me, but we shouldn’t be long so he should be fine with it,” Aris explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you mean? Why do you need his permission?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He leads our gardening team. We have schedules to keep, but as long as it gets done eventually he won’t mind.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris felt honoured that Julia had asked him to be her tour guide and to explain their way of life. He’d seen the way she’d looked at the ocean this morning, eyes wide with wonder, and it brought back so many memories of his own first days here. And even though it never got old, he’d still got somewhat used to it, and that first magic couldn’t be replicated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pair began walking towards the fields in a silence that was only a tiny bit uncomfortable (or maybe that was just Aris. He’d never been great at making conversation with near-strangers) but Julia was practically oozing with unspoken questions, clearly wondering where to start and how much would be acceptable to ask in one go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So how much do you guys work?” she asked eventually.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“However much our roles require us to, really. In the Winter, we spent hardly any time out on the fields. But now that spring is here, we’ll need to work a lot more.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How many jobs are there?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you’ve got the gardeners, fishers, builders, teachers, cooks, the people who look after the younger children and the animals. Oh, and the guards,” Aris explained. “Those are the main ones.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia nodded but remained silent after Aris finished talking. If anything, she looked almost downcast or maybe a little bit wistful. Aris sneaked a sideways glance at her, but she was staring at the ground as they walked, eyes distant.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You okay?” he asked quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia glanced up at Aris, a small smile making its way across her face, “Yeah, just… thinking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Penny for your thoughts?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you got one of those?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris chuckled slightly to himself, “No. But it wouldn’t have any worth here, anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had no need for money in the Safe Haven, but that didn’t mean that it wasn’t still worth something in this crazy, post-apocalyptic world. Aris knew that the Right Arm had money, but he wasn’t sure what they spent it on. Vince never spoke to them about financials (not that Aris would understand if he did, but that’s not the point.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was thinking about my friends,” said Julia, “I never even got the chance to say goodbye.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Julia.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, they wouldn’t want me moping around in a place this beautiful. I have this opportunity to be here, free from WICKED, but them… they’re still going through those awful simulations. They would love this place. I know Ash would love it. </span>
  <em>
    <span>God, </span>
  </em>
  <span>I miss her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who’s Ash?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia sighed but managed a small smile as she spoke, “My best friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was true that WICKED had screwed them over by putting them in that Maze, but the PFC had done the same by splitting them up. And yes, Julia was safer here, but she had to live with the knowledge that her friends were not. That was a whole other kind of torture. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ll see them again,” said Aris, “The Right Arm will get them out of there somehow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I really hope you’re right.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They soon approached the fields to see that the gardening team were gathered around the small hut, slowly dispersing when they’d been handed their tools and basket. And, of course, Newt was right in the thick of it all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just wait here,” said Aris, “I’ll talk to him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll come. So I can back you up if he says no.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris nodded and led Julia across the fields - they stretched on for about a half mile, but it wasn’t all in use yet. This was the first time Julia was seeing this part of the Safe Haven, and her astounded expression reminded Aris of just how incredible it was up here. They were on a slight cliff which overlooked the beach down below, and trees marked the boundary a half mile East. The vastness of the fields was exposing, but also like a breath of fresh air away from the hubbub of everything else. It was so easy to be alone out here if you needed to be - Aris had spent countless hours by himself, taking a much needed moment to recharge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Newt?” Aris called out to the boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt spun around to face him once he’d handed a basket to his sister, “Ah, Aris! There you are. Now, I need you to-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, I wanted to ask you something. Julia needs me to show her around for a bit, and I was wondering if someone could cover my area until I get back?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt’s gaze flickered to where Julia was standing just beside Aris and he smiled slightly, “Yeah, that’s fine. On one condition, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fancy doing some field work when you get back, Julia?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris glanced at the girl who was practically glowing with excitement at being given a job to do, “Hell yes, I do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then we have a deal,” Newt extended a hand out for the pair to shake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Newt,” said Julia.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris couldn’t help but think that Julia would make a good addition to their gardening team if that was the job she was allocated to. Her enthusiasm was almost contagious. Still, she was yet to do any actual work so they’d have to see if that enthusiasm was still in place by dinner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t mention it. And, er…” Newt paused, looking between Aris and Julia before his gaze landed on the girl. “You guys are cute together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris was stunned silent for a moment, but Julia immediately let out a snort of laughter. Newt simply winked at them before turning away, leaving Aris staring gobsmacked at his back. There was definitely a joke going on that he didn’t understand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s just kidding,” Julia laughed, tugging Aris away by the elbow. “Ignore him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t understand how Julia </span>
  <em>
    <span>already </span>
  </em>
  <span>had inside jokes with Newt. He hadn’t even thought they’d </span>
  <em>
    <span>met </span>
  </em>
  <span>properly yet. But oh, how wrong he was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris rolled his eyes. “I don’t understand you”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he just shook his head fondly, a small smile playing on his lips. Julia moved to elbow him in the side, but Aris managed to dodge the incoming attack by side stepping and almost tripping himself up in his wake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright,” said Julia. “Tour?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, tour.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From the fields, Aris showed Julia the small farm where a few animals were kept - chickens and cows for their eggs and milk. They rarely ate actual meat, unless you counted the fish, but nobody really minded. That was the thing about a post apocalyptic community: everyone was grateful for what they had, and anything more than bare minimum was just extra.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Obviously you know that hospital pretty well by now,” Aris joked as they passed by the steps where they’d met that morning. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He almost couldn’t believe that it had only been a few hours ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Those are the classrooms which you saw earlier. The kids have their lessons in there, but it’s also used as a meeting spot,” Aris explained as they passed the small building, “And that ugly bit of concrete over there is the landing port for Bergs. It’s mostly inactive because Vince and Jorge are the only people who leave.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where do they go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right Arm meetings. Vince doesn’t really discuss it with us, so we don’t know a lot about the other Safe Haven’s.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, there are other Safe Haven’s?” Julia asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris tried his best to explain everything he knew - the fact that most of the cure had been sent out to the Crank Safe Haven’s and how they’d established a new community from the survivors. He wasn’t sure exactly how many Safe Haven’s there were, but he knew that there were enough for the Right Arm to be dealing with. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, what? They just keep people here and they can’t leave?” asked Julia. “Even if they want to?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve seen what’s out there. There’s nothing for any of us if we left the safety of this place. We have the boundary to keep out any Cranks and to keep us safe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris pointed to the line of trees marking the boundary. Beyond that, the guards took shifts in patrolling to ensure the safety of everyone inside. Molly made sure that only people who were somewhat experienced could take on the job, much to Minho’s obvious dismay. That was his dream job.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I ask you something?” Julia asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How come you’d known that I’d come through the boundary? It was dark and it looked like everyone else but you and your friends were inside…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris hadn’t realised, but they were standing in almost the exact spot where Julia had handed Aris the note last night. She’d been brought through near the hospital, and Aris and Teresa had just happened to be leaving at that time. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Me and my friend Teresa were talking to Molly about something. We came out of the hospital and saw the guard bringing you through.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia nodded, not pushing the matter any further. It wasn’t that Aris didn’t trust her enough to tell her about the amnesia, but he thought that his friends deserved to know before someone he’d met just a few hours previous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s in there?” Julia asked, pointing towards the shower block that they were slowly approaching.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Showers. Toilets. It’s not too bad, want to have a look?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia shook her head and laughed, “I’ll pass. Just tell me this, though: is it private enough?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. Taking a shower is one of the only times you get to be properly alone. It isn’t exactly quiet around here if you hadn’t noticed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was true - there was always someone around during the day, either working or just hanging around. Even now, Aris could see a group of people walking together by the beach, and could hear the sounds of the children in the classrooms. The teachers would often let them out and just let them be </span>
  <em>
    <span>kids </span>
  </em>
  <span>for a while, and their delighted screams would often drift all the way across to the furthest end of the fields. It made Aris long for that opportunity he’d never had.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, Aris and Julia ended up by the block of dorms, coming to a stop outside their room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is where we sleep, obviously. It’s just everyone you met earlier, plus our friend Brenda who’s also Immune but wasn’t in the Trials, and a few other Immunes our age,” Aris explained as he pushed open the metal door and held it open for Julia to step through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I like it,” she said eventually. “It’s cosy. Will I be sleeping in here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I expect so. There’s room for one more, it’ll just mean moving a few of the beds closer together. Not a problem.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia seemed satisfied enough as she cast her gaze over the sea of single beds and bunk beds. All of the bunk beds were lining the walls, with two rows of singles down the middle. It really was cosy, but it was home. It was enough. And that was all any of them could ask for. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Let’s move on.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris showed Julia the cafeteria next, making to explain Frypan’s rules, then continued down to the beach. They could see the Fishers a slight distance away out at sea. But it turned out that this tour was not just a learning experience for Julia, but for Aris, too - he noticed that the builders were working on something just over the hills, towards the West of the Safe Haven. Some sort of hut, it appeared to be. He made a mental note to ask Gally about it later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s this?” Julia asked as they approached the huge stone wall carved with countless names.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The memorial wall,” Aris explained. “For everyone we lost.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He immediately made his way to the spot on the wall where he’d made his own carving, not needing to think twice about where the name was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chin high, four and a half meters to the left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Rachel.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris brought a hand up to trace the careful lettering, trying to ignore the lump that had formed in his throat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>God, he missed her. He missed her so much.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who was she?” Julia asked quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My best friend.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was so much he hadn’t got the chance to tell Rachel; so much he wished he could have said to her. His memories of her were the clearest and best ones he had, and were all he had to remember her by. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He missed her smile and the way she used to tease him. He missed her laugh, and her talent for making </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>laugh, despite everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The moment Rachel was murdered was the moment his heart had shattered into millions of pieces. Some of the pieces were lost; some had been hastily glued back together. But it was never the same again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he knew, deep down, that he would never be the same person without her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aris?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a sharp intake of breath and wiped a hand across his face before turning to face Julia. She reminded him of her. Just a little bit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, we should get going,” said Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could tell me about her. If you like.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he did. He told her everything.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Newt got his payback for what Julia said to him and Thomas ("You guys are cute together.") <br/>Hehe I couldn't resist a little bit of banter between Newt and Julia.<br/>The next chapter will have a little more plot development in it, and then it's basically an uphill journey from there plot-wise. <br/>:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. twelve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Newt’s leg seemed to get continually worse as the morning went on. It had felt so much better after Thomas’s massage, but the pain had gradually increased to the point that he was now wincing whenever he shifted his weight onto it. The field work was never kind to his leg with all the manual labour and crouching down on the floor. But it had never been this relentless before. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a sigh, Newt stood up from the patch he’d been working at to try and shake away the ache in his muscles (which was obviously not going to work, he was kidding nobody.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You alright Newt?” Sonya called from her position at the end of the row they were working at together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m good. Just the buggin’ leg, that’s all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should sit out for a bit and rest it,” said Sonya, “Or go find Thomas so he can work those magic hands. It seemed to work earlier.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt rolled his eyes even though his sister was too far away to see, “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sonya. He’s busy anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“At least take a break if you need to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only reason Newt didn’t take Sonya’s advice was because he didn’t like the idea of slacking off while the others all worked hard. He was their leader, and if any of them saw that he wasn’t working then they might go getting ideas. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>purpose </span>
  </em>
  <span>here in the Safe Haven, and Molly had trusted him with this role despite everything. He didn’t want to let her or anyone else down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt glanced down at his watch and almost sighed in relief when he realised that there were only a few minutes until lunch. They were actually ahead of schedule despite Aris abandoning ship to show Julia around. In the time they’d been back, Julia had proven that she was surprisingly skilled in gardening, and Newt had no doubts that he would be fighting for her to be on their team when the time came. She’d already worked her charm on both Sonya and Harriet who had been slightly weary at first, but soon warmed up to the girl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Plus, she hadn’t said a word about what she’d seen between him and Thomas. Newt still wasn’t sure how she’d come to the conclusion that the two of them were anything more than platonic, but she’d done so a lot quicker than their friends had. Maybe it just took an outsider to see the truth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the truth was, even Newt and Thomas weren’t sure what they were. They hadn’t wanted to label anything, or feel forced together if they told their friends (which would obviously have happened; that lot had almost no filter when it came to gossip. Take Brenda and Gally, for example. They wouldn’t be hearing the end of that for a long while.) And even though they didn’t mean any harm, both Newt and Thomas had agreed that they had the rest of their lives to work things out. So what was the point of rushing into anything?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt blew the whistle he wore around his neck, signalling the start of their lunch break. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>God, </span>
  </em>
  <span>did he need a break. He was hoping that his leg might ease up after resting it in the cafeteria for a while, and then he would be able to get straight back to work. They had so much to do, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Usually, Newt would wait and make sure that everyone left the fields to take their well deserved break, but he couldn’t bear to be on his feet any longer than was actually necessary today. He started limping in the direction of the cafeteria, completely abandoning his tools, with his sister by his side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you think of Julia?” she asked quietly, as not to be overheard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She seems alright,” said Newt, “Why? Don’t you like her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no, I do! I was just curious to know what you thought, that’s all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think we can trust her. She’s been so open about everything so far, and I’ll bet she’s made friends with everyone by the end of the day,” said Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The siblings joined their friends at one of the tables at the back of the cafeteria. Teresa was already there, along with the others from their gardening team and a few other Immunes, but Minho and Thomas were nowhere to be seen just yet. Newt took a seat opposite Sonya, extending his leg out onto the bench beside him to relieve some of the pressure. He must have been wincing in pain as he did so, because Sonya let out a small sigh from across the table.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I knew you were lying to me,” she said. “Look, if you’re not going to look after yourself then </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’ll </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to. You need to take the rest of the day off, Newt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, don’t complain. You do so much for our team, and you deserve to </span>
  <em>
    <span>rest </span>
  </em>
  <span>when you need it. I know what you’re like. You’ll keep pushing on until you drop dead or are forced to stop. And I’d much rather the latter.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked Newt straight in the eye as if daring him to argue any more. This relationship they had as siblings was often just an extended sort of friendship, but Newt couldn’t deny the amount of care and </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>he saw in her eyes at that moment. It almost choked him up to know that their bond stretched that far.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” he said eventually. “But in protest.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can protest all you want, but someone’s gotta look after you when Thomas isn’t around. You know he’d be saying the same thing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt didn’t notice the knowing tone in Sonya’s voice, nor the sparkle in her eyes at the subtle hint. She knew that her brother was closer to Thomas than he was to anyone else, but had never questioned either of them as to whether there was anything more going on. She had to let them work things out in their own time. Maybe she was just hopeful, but she wanted the best for her brother and it seemed like Thomas gave that to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with your leg?” Julia asked from beside Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt startled at being asked this question; everyone already knew the vague explanation he’d provided, “Oh, uh… I broke it and it’s never been the same since then.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only people who he’d told the truth to were Thomas, Molly and Sonya. It wasn’t something he was particularly comfortable in sharing just yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was only when everyone started to plate up their food that Newt realised just how late Thomas and Minho were. They’d been out all morning on the fishing boat, but were almost always back by lunch time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was why Newt had taken to drumming his fingers against the wooden table, awaiting the return of his two best friends. He wouldn’t have described his behaviour as anxious - more </span>
  <em>
    <span>concerned. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maybe Thomas really had thrown Minho overboard like he’d threatened to at breakfast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you gonna eat?” Sonya asked, gesturing at Newt’s untouched lunch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Er… yes?” he replied, taking a bite of the sandwich for emphasis. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It looked like Sonya was going to say something else, but was cut off by the sound of the cafeteria doors crashing open. Minho and Thomas strolled through, looking rather windswept, and Thomas had to pull Minho towards the sinks to wash his hands before he inhaled his food. Newt rolled his eyes fondly at the pair who eventually came to sit at the table with loaded plates, only twenty minutes late.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey shanks,” Minho greeted as he slid into the space beside Sonya.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi Min,” Newt said before removing his leg from the bench to allow Thomas to take a seat, “Hey Tommy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is your leg hurting again?” Thomas asked, a small frown creasing his forehead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’ve already told him he’s to rest it,” Sonya interrupted. “And don’t listen to him if he tells you otherwise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, </span>
  <em>
    <span>thank you </span>
  </em>
  <span>Sonya,” said Newt which earned him a sweet smile in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could certainly see why she’d been second in command in Group B.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas placed a hand on Newt’s knee under the table, tracing small circles with his thumb. They’d come to communicate in eye contact and touches, and this one practically screamed ‘I’m here for you’.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So where were you two?” Newt asked his friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lost track of time.” Minho said through a mouth full of food. “And then Leo insisted on moving all the fish, even though we could have done that after lunch.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh no,” Newt groaned. “Does that mean you two will come back stinking of fish later?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do we not already?” Thomas asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt leaned closer to Thomas to take an over exaggerated sniff, “Hmm. Only slightly fishy. But also…” He leaned back in, “Lemons.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Lemons?” Minho asked. “Chu’ on about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt shrugged and glanced at Thomas who was suppressing a laugh with a knowing glint in his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thomas always gets out of all the gruesome stuff,” said Minho. “There’s always a net that needs repairing or something else that needs doing. You know Leo’s going to see right through you someday, Tommo.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas rolled his eyes, “You know I don’t like it and their eyes really freak me out!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Then don’t look at their eyes!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How can I when it’s staring right at me?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonya cleared her throat to gain the boy’s attention, “Do you mind </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>talking about fish eyes while we’re trying to eat?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was the way that most conversations went at meal times. Newt thought it was remarkable how they always managed to find something to talk about, despite their often monotonous jobs and the fact that they were almost always together. It really proved their friendship and sense of family.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even Julia had joined in on the conversation to Newt’s left, somehow managing to slot into their lifestyle in a matter of hours. If Newt had been in her situation, he wouldn’t have trusted a single soul. And yet here Julia was, already BFF’s with Aris and warming up on the rest of them with such ease. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If Newt’s gaze hadn’t already been lying to the left, he would have missed the way Teresa and Aris simultaneously snapped their heads up to look at each other. Both of their faces looked as if they’d seen a ghost.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guys,” Aris said, not breaking eye contact with Teresa. “Shut up for a second.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All of you shut up!” Teresa snapped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now they had their whole table’s attention. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Had they heard something? Maybe a Berg, or a gunshot, or…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get me some paper,” Aris commanded. “NOW!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>… or maybe it was telepathic.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Tiny cliffhanger...<br/>Who could be speaking telepathically to Aris and Teresa, I wonder?<br/>:)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. thirteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Previously...</p>
<p>“Guys,” Aris said, not breaking eye contact with Teresa. “Shut up for a second.”<br/>“All of you shut up!” Teresa snapped.<br/>Now they had their whole table’s attention. <br/>Had they heard something? Maybe a Berg, or a gunshot, or…<br/>“Get me some paper,” Aris commanded. “NOW!”</p>
<p>… or maybe it was telepathic.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“Hello. This is Ava Paige, and I’m using the telepathy link to communicate with you both. I have some important information I need to share with you, and it might help if you have something to write this down with.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Get me some paper,” Aris commanded. “NOW!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aris, what are you-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Quickly, this is important!” said Aris, trying desperately to ignore the stares and confused glances from his friends and to focus on the voice currently invading his thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Like I said, my name is Ava Paige but you probably remember me as Doctor Paige or Chancellor Paige. You probably thought that WICKED were gone once we’d found the cure, but you were wrong. WICKED are still alive and intend to complete the cure.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>An A4 piece of paper was thrust under Aris’s nose along with a pencil and he immediately started scribbling down everything the woman had said so far. His friends had taken to gawping at him, mouths agape, but at least they had listened when they were told (albeit rather rudely) to shut up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Now I know you must be thinking Ah! But the cure has already been found! You are not wrong. But you are not right either. The cure that WICKED are trying to find would be permanent, like a vaccine to the Flare, meaning that every non-Immune will forever be protected. Because if someone has been cured once, it doesn’t prevent them from getting the virus again and they will begin to deteriorate like before.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Aris tried to reach out to Ava with his telepathy, he found that he couldn’t. However she was speaking to them was blocking them from saying anything in response, meaning that they wouldn’t be able to bombard the woman with questions.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I need to tell you this: I am currently undercover in WICKED for the PFC. If everything worked out, then the girl should have had that note on her when she arrived at your Safe Haven, signed by the Post Flares Coalition. It was us that sent her to you for personal reasons, but you should know that you can trust her. The PFC are opposing WICKED because we believe that this is not the way to save the world from extinction. No cure can be found in this way - it simply will not work, but WICKED are blinded by the desire to finish what they started all those years ago. So this is why we are proposing for the Right Arm to join with us.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>With your help, we can rebuild civilisation and save so many more people. Because there are still so many out there, living with the virus or hiding from an infected world. Together, we can save them.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A sudden buzz of static vibrated through Aris’s skull, causing him and Teresa to flinch simultaneously. Ava had fallen quiet, but he could still feel the unnatural presence invading his thoughts, like an itch he couldn’t scratch.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m sorry, I’m out of time. The connection isn’t going to last. Contact Georgina Woodward, get the Right Arm to -”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The connection cut off. Ava Paige was gone.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The sudden quiet somehow felt even louder than the relentless buzzing of that telepathic invasion, and it took Aris a moment to recalibrate his senses. It was like his thoughts were ringing in the way that ears would after hearing a loud noise… he’d certainly never experienced </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But </span>
  <em>
    <span>wow, back to business. </span>
  </em>
  <span>This was one hell of a revelation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can one of you </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span> explain what’s going on?” Sonya asked, deeming it safe to talk considering that Aris had abandoned the pencil. “Where did you get all this information?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The telepathy. It was… well, it’s all there,” Aris said, gesturing down at the paper and pushing it down the table for the others to read properly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris ran a hand across his face and let out a huge exhale of breath that he’d been holding the whole time he’d been listening and scribbling away in his unpracticed scrawl. And he was extremely grateful for writing everything down - he knew that he would have forgotten some of what Ava had told him if he hadn’t done so, and he couldn’t trust that Teresa would fill in the gaps. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this everything?” asked Harriet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s everything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They fell into a stony silence as each of them read the all-important page of Aris’s messy notes, the air around them crackling with rising tension. You could almost hear the cacophony of thoughts running through each of their heads, along with a fair few gasps or puffs of disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it was Newt who spoke first, his voice slicing through their bubble of silence, “Ava Paige... Do we know her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They wouldn’t remember her, Aris realised. Ava Paige had been a WICKED associate when they were growing up in the complex, and had worked closely with the ‘Elites’: Aris, Rachel, Teresa and Thomas, to help construct the Maze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I recognise the name,” Thomas said slowly, as if searching his memories for an answer, “Paige? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Chancellor</span>
  </em>
  <span> Paige?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you remember her?” Teresa asked with a hint of surprise in her voice. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I remember- Who was it that said- Oh! It was Brenda,” said Thomas, “When we were about to get the Swipe removed, she told me only to trust her and Chancellor Paige. Why? Should I know her from </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We knew her,” Aris replied. “Well, we actually spent quite a bit of time with her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas frowned slightly, “So she was with WICKED? And now she’s with the PFC but </span>
  <em>
    <span>undercover</span>
  </em>
  <span> in WICKED? I don’t know, that sounds kinda shady to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Julia, you were in there recently,” said Harriet. “Did you know Ava Paige?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She first looked startled at being brought into the conversation, until her face contorted into an expression of unspoken deliberation, “I’ve heard her name, but I never actually saw her. At least I don’t think I did. They called her Doctor Paige, but she never administered any of my tests. She was just a name.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It would make sense that Ava didn’t have a particularly high up job with the organisation in order to maintain a low (well, as low as possible) profile while undercover. That was if her story was actually true. It wasn’t like they could go jumping to conclusions and blindly trust her when they only had her word. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Also, Ava isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>shady,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Teresa sighed. “You were her favourite when we were growing up, Thomas. You trusted her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That didn’t stop her doing what she did,” Aris retorted before immediately wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. Now they were all staring at him. Again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what was that?” asked Sonya.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris looked up at Teresa to find the girl glaring at him, as if he’d done something wrong, “T? Do you want to explain or should I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wasn’t sure why she was acting like this - it wasn’t like they planned to defend Ava anytime soon. Their time doing WICKED’s dirty work had long since passed, so why was Teresa so reluctant to say this?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was Ava,” Teresa said eventually. “The one who drugged Thomas before the Maze, to give him the Swipe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well that sounds pretty bloody dodgy to me,” said Newt, squinting his eyes at Teresa as if trying to suss her out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She did it for a reason.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well that doesn’t make it okay.” Newt retorted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>to find a cure </span>
  </em>
  <span>and save the human race. Surely you would have done the same thing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No I wouldn’t. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And it clearly did a fat load of good didn’t it, because they had to put </span>
  <em>
    <span>more </span>
  </em>
  <span>kids in that </span>
  <em>
    <span>bloody </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maze!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If she hadn’t done it, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you wouldn’t even be alive!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, </span>
  <em>
    <span>that’s enough!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Thomas yelled, loud enough to silence every one of them and grasp the attention of curious onlookers. “You have a lot of nerve talking to him like that, Teresa. Now I suggest we </span>
  <em>
    <span>drop this </span>
  </em>
  <span>before anyone says anything they’re going to regret.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa gawped at Thomas, her jaw practically scraping the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody spoke. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not a word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An eternity could have passed, maybe two, before Teresa simply nodded her head and walked away from them without another word. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody followed. Nobody dared. Because it sure as hell sounded like Teresa was still on WICKED’s side, despite everything.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So that happened...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. fourteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The aftermath of the last chapter where Newt and Thomas follow up on what happened.<br/>Enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They finished the rest of lunch in a somewhat tense silence. Since Teresa had marched off, they hadn’t spoken another word about the message, except to agree that someone needed to take that piece of paper to Molly or Vince so they could deal with it. Newt had offered, considering that Sonya was insisting he took the afternoon off anyway, and Thomas had said that he wanted to find Brenda and ask her what she’d meant when she said that Ava Paige could be trusted. Needless to say, Minho hadn’t been overjoyed at the fact that he would be slicing up some fish by himself for the whole afternoon.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the cafeteria had finally emptied and Thomas had given Newt’s leg another glorious massage, they agreed that they should probably go and actively seek out Brenda. She hadn’t been at lunch because she was supposedly on shift as a guard, so the boys had figured that she’d turn up at the cafeteria for lunch sooner or later. But no such luck.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish I’d tried harder to remember her schedule,” Thomas groaned. “We could go straight to Molly but I really wanted an explanation from Brenda first.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We could go and ask Gally. He might know, considering they’ve been getting closer recently,” suggested Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That does mean more walking and strain on your leg, though.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine, Tommy. Just don’t tell Sonya.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas laughed, the sound reverberating around the empty cafeteria, “My lips are sealed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt rolled up the piece of paper Aris had written on, not wanting to leave it lying around in the open. They needed to take it to Molly, anyway, and probably should have done that already. Nevermind. They were getting there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pain in his leg had greatly subsided, much to his relief, but he still ended up limping all the way to where the builders were constructing some sort of hut. Newt certainly hadn’t been made aware of what this was for, but now was not the time to question it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Darius?” Thomas called out to the boy. “Is Gally around?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, he just took ten,” he explained, gesturing back towards the dorms they’d just walked by.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, man.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was why Thomas and Newt ended up in the open doorway of their dimly lit door room, not thinking much of it when they heard faint voices from inside. Maybe Gally had taken a break with one of the other builders.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What Newt definitely hadn’t anticipated was to see two figures in the corner of the room, pressed up against each other, one with their back against the wall. With a start (and definitely a few seconds too late), Newt realised that it was Brenda who had her arms snaked around Gally’s neck and was </span>
  <em>
    <span>kissing </span>
  </em>
  <span>him, and -</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus bloody Christ!” Newt exclaimed before he could stop himself, shielding his eyes in shock.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pair sprung apart in an instant, almost comically, their faces an image of horror and embarrassment at being caught in the act. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, well, well,” Thomas said slyly. “What do we have here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Two shanks who don’t know how to close a bloody door when they need some privacy is what I’d call it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gally narrowed his eyes at them both, “You really couldn’t leave us alone for two minutes? This is no privacy in this place! I swear, you’d better keep your shuck mouths </span>
  <em>
    <span>shut</span>
  </em>
  <span> about this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re not going to tell,” Thomas reassured. “We just wanted to talk to Brenda, but it seems you’re a little preoccupied at the moment. Come on, Newt, let’s leave them to it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, what’s it about?” asked Brenda.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ava Paige contacted Aris and Teresa by telepathy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda blinked twice, seemingly in shock at this statement, before she eventually nodded, “Give me a minute, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Newt and Thomas wordlessly left the room, turning their backs on the embarrassed new couple. As soon as they were out of sight, however, they both burst into silent laughter.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt supposed that this answered the question as to whether anything was going on between those two, but he couldn’t help but wish that he’d found out in a slightly different way. But at least it seemed that Brenda had moved on from Thomas, anyway.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda emerged from the dorm room after a minute, Gally right behind her, but she pulled Newt and Thomas away by their elbows before either of them could say anything more to the boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Having a good day?” Thomas teased.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda gave him a stern look and rolled her eyes, “Shut it, Thomas. I’m not in the mood for your heartless teasing. I’m trying not to be mad at you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Heartless? That hurts, Brenda,” Thomas joked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t you both be working?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We could ask you the same thing,” said Newt. “But we’ve got the afternoon off, it seems. And good riddance because we need to chase up some answers.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt let Thomas explain everything: the telepathy connection, Ava’s proposition and how Teresa had reacted. He still wasn’t sure what exactly had gone on with Teresa or why she was being so defensive, and it didn’t seem like any of the others knew, either, including Aris. But Newt had to feel a bit sorry for them both; the telepathy connection hadn’t looked particularly comfortable, and he was grateful that Thomas didn’t have to go through that since having his own chip removed back in Denver.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Ava Paige,” said Brenda. “What do you want to know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything you know. It’ll all be helpful,” Thomas said as the three of them sat down together on the grass. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well… after my father was shot, I met Jorge. We had nothing left, and only a small chance of survival by ourselves, which is why we joined WICKED, despite disagreeing with what they were doing. It was purely a matter of survival. We worked closely with Ava when she asked for our help in the Scorch Trials, and I could immediately tell that she was very fond of you, Thomas. We actually met before the trials began; you, me and Jorge. You weren’t told the truth at the time, but myself and Jorge were heading out to the Crank city so we could set up base there and prepare for your arrival…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She cut off when Thomas’s face fell and he averted his gaze, seemingly contemplating this new revelation that had been uncovered about his past. The four of them who had memories pre-Maze: Teresa, Aris, Gally and Brenda (she kind of counts, even though she wasn’t in the Trials) didn’t like to talk about it because they didn’t find it fair on the others who still had the Swipe intact. But Newt didn’t understand why they hadn’t just been unfront with each other from the start and admitted things like this which had the possibility to hurt others when they either got their memories back or learnt about it from someone else. Surely it would have been better to just get it out of the way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just want to know,” said Thomas. “Why would Ava betray me if I was her favourite? Why would she do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda sighed, “Thomas, the plan was always to insert you and Teresa into the Maze. The last thing I said to you before we parted ways was ‘See you later, alligator’. I knew you were a smart kid, and I hoped that maybe you’d figure it out. I know it was vague, but it was the best I could do without giving the game away. I don’t know why Ava led you to believe that you would still have your memories.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With what Teresa had said and now with what Brenda was saying, Ava Paige was sounding more and more evil, despite Teresa’s best efforts to defend her for whatever reason. Something wasn’t adding up here.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why did you say that he could trust her? Did </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>trust her?” asked Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I didn’t really know her. I just thought that because she really liked you, Thomas, that she would be on your side or something, I don’t know. It was a spur of the moment thing, really,” Brenda sighed. “Anything else you wanted to know?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas shook his head, “I don’t think so.” He paused for a second, a mischievous sparkle glinting in his eyes, “Actually, yes. When did you and Gally…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oka-ay,” Brenda interrupted, “I’ll see you guys later. Have a good afternoon off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stood up and started walking back off in the direction of the cafeteria before either boy could tease her anymore, and Newt hit Thomas lightly on the arm after Brenda was safely out of earshot, “Tommy! She said no more teasing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, I know! I couldn’t help myself. I just can’t get my head around it… I mean, Gally? That girl has terrible taste in men,” Thomas laughed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not all the time,” said Newt. “Didn’t she used to like</span>
  <em>
    <span> you</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took him a few seconds, but Thomas’s face eventually crinkled into a small and slightly modest smile, “Shut it, you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their next job was to find either Molly or Vince to inform them of what happened over lunch, and to hand over that piece of paper.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Molly might be up in the hospital,” said Thomas. “But where do you think Vince is? What does he even do when he’s not running off doing Right Arm stuff?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vince</span>
  <em>
    <span> is</span>
  </em>
  <span> the Right Arm. He’s probably still doing something to do with it even when he’s not,” Newt replied. “But can we look for Molly first? She listens a lot better than Vince does.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, sure. You good to walk?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm,” Newt said, feigning a serious expression. “No, I think I need you to carry me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, hop on.” Thomas replied instantly, turning around so Newt could jump onto his back for a piggyback ride. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas caught his legs, and Newt wrapped his arms around the boy's neck with a laugh and rested his chin on his shoulder, still clutching onto that roll of paper. It felt like he could have been five years old again, without a care in the world except the joy of being carried at his own request. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Tommy,” he murmured.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, make yourself comfortable,” Thomas replied with a fond roll of his eyes. “The things I do for you, seriously.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would return the favour one day but I think you’re a little heavier than me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Oi!</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’ll make you walk!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt gasped, “You wouldn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bloody slinthead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shank.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know Molly thinks we’re together.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas stopped for a second to adjust his grasp on Newt’s legs before continuing the short walk towards the hospital, “Huh?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Remember this morning?” asked Newt. “You practically confirmed it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Was that only this morning? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jesus</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Off topic, Tommy!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” Thomas dragged out the single syllable. “She can think whatever she likes, as long as it doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it doesn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you’re okay with that?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Tommy, I don’t mind.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>They found Molly at her desk, sipping at a steaming mug with papers laid out in front of her. She looked up in surprise to see the two boys approaching hand in hand, having only spoken to them both a couple of hours ago.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey boys,” she said. “Back again?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not medical stuff this time, thank goodness,” Newt said, “But something happened earlier and we thought we should let you know about it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly nodded, “What is it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt unrolled the piece of paper onto Molly’s desk, and let her scan over it before explaining, “Aris and Teresa were contacted through their telepathy. This is everything Ava said to them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He watched as the woman took everything in, re-reading it to make sure she hadn’t missed anything - Aris’s writing was appalling, but luckily still legible despite his obvious lack of practice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks for showing me this. Do you mind if I keep hold of the paper so I can show Vince? I’m sure he’ll want to see it as soon as possible,” said Molly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course. You can do what you like with it. But will you tell us what’s going to happen and what Vince says?” asked Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly nodded, “I will, but I expect we’ll need to speak with Aris and Teresa first. This is all just so extraordinary…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s been a strange few days,” said Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And he was right. But Newt had a feeling that things were only just beginning. This was just the start of a hurricane - the calm before the storm.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. fifteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry it's a little short :/</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aris was sitting in an almost empty classroom beside Teresa, while Molly and Vince sat opposite them reading the notes he’d made on that roll of paper. He’d abandoned his position on the fields for the second time in one day after hearing Teresa’s telepathic message that he needed to come down to the classrooms for a meeting, and he wasn’t particularly overjoyed about it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So she just cut off at the end?” asked Vince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa nodded, “The connection started breaking up then it just went to static. I don’t know what happened.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I suppose it was probably just a disruption in the system. Maybe it couldn’t cope with the long distance and long period of time she was speaking for.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So what about her proposition?” asked Aris, “Are we going to consider it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not like we have a way to contact the PFC even if we wanted to. The connection broke off, remember?” Teresa replied before Vince could get a word in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After what had happened at lunch, he had been slightly afraid of how Teresa would be acting towards him, considering that he had been the one to bring up what Ava did to Thomas. If he’d realised it was going to be such a sore spot, he would have waited to mention it until they others weren’t around. In all honesty, he wasn’t even sure why Teresa had reacted like she had, and he wasn’t sure that he would be finding out anytime soon. She was avoiding all eye contact with him as they sat side by side, only giving him a cut nod when he’d entered the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you know that name she gave you? Georgina Woodward? Well, I can try and get into contact with her because she used to be involved with the Right Arm,” Vince explained. “It’s lucky you heard that name, otherwise we’d have no way to contact the PFC.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you’re considering it, then?” asked Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have no reason not to,” Teresa muttered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have plenty of reasons not to!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, okay,” Vince held up a hand to silence the glaring pair of them. “It seems like we need to </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk</span>
  </em>
  <span> about this. All I know about Ava is that she was with WICKED and then went off the radar when the cure was developed and when we flew out here. But what do you both know about her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris explained about what he remembered her doing before the Trials began, and her relationships with the ‘Elites’. With a single glance in Teresa’s direction, he told Vince what Ava had done to Thomas: drugging him unconscious so she could give him the Swipe despite her promise not to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he’d finished speaking, Teresa let out a huge sigh, “You don’t even know the full story, so please don’t go jumping to conclusions.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell us then, Teresa,” Molly said with the kind of patience that Aris would have struggled to find in response to the girl.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She only did it so the Trials could successfully be completed. Thomas wanted to go in there to stop it, and to lead them all to safety after he realised how many people were dying in there. But that was obviously not going to work,” Teresa explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris narrowed his eyes, “I don’t understand how that makes it okay-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not saying it does,” said Teresa. “I just need you to take into account that they were not as evil as everyone makes them out to be. ‘WICKED’ is good, remember?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Those three words had, in fact, been the first thing Aris remembered when he woke up from his comatose state in the Maze, but WICKED had definitely proved this statement to be wrong in his eyes. Except it seemed that Teresa’s opinion on the matter had obviously not changed for the better.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, thank you Teresa, but the past is in the past and should stay there where it belongs. Yes, we may be unsure of this woman but I think it would be worth making contact, don’t you think? Just to hear what they really want from us. I’ll call a Gathering so we can get everyone else's opinion on all this - they deserve an update, anyway,” said Vince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let them both go after that, agreeing that the other people in the Safe Haven deserved a say in this considering that it would be affecting them almost directly if a partnership was agreed. Maybe someone would know something extra about Ava to add to the list.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa was the first out of the door, not sparing Aris another word or glance before turning her back. But he followed her out, jogging to catch up with her as she walked away from the classrooms to go back to doing whatever she’d been doing before the meeting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Teresa!” he called as he approached her side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked at him from the corner of her eye, “I don’t want to talk right now. Sorry, Aris.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not me you should be apologising to. I was going to say you need to talk to Thomas; you can’t leave him hanging and questioning his own past like that, it isn’t fair. Just explain the truth-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa spun around to face him head on, surprising tears glinting in her eyes, “It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> the truth, Aris! Don’t you get it? That wasn’t the full truth, but I can’t… I can’t do this, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris froze, completely taken aback, “What do you mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t tell Thomas. It’ll hurt him too much and I… I just can’t</span>
  <em>
    <span> do</span>
  </em>
  <span> that to him!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you talking about?” Aris asked, “What did you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t... I’m sorry, I just can’t-” she said, and with that she spun on her heel and practically jogged away from him, all the while wiping at her tear stricken cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris just stood there as he watched her go, mouth agape, unable to comprehend what had just happened. What was Teresa hiding that was so awful? What had she </span>
  <em>
    <span>done? </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was pretty clear that whatever it was, it was eating her up on the inside. Mentioning what had happened to Thomas had opened a wound, which explained why she was so upset, but Aris was confused as to what involvement she could have had for it to be anything to do with Ava Paige.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was too much to deal with in one day - he had a splitting headache coming on and wanted more than anything to just hide away from the world he’d restored faith into just for it to all come crashing back down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, instead of heading back to the fields for the last hour of work, he retired to the shower block in desperate need of the comfort of the warm water. Ava’s voice was still ringing in his ears, along with Teresa’s and her half-confession. He wasn’t sure how much of this he could take.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he walked towards the shower block he could vaguely make out Newt and Thomas sitting by the beach, but he made no move to go and talk to them. It looked kind of private, anyway, and he wasn’t in the mood to make conversation. The privacy of his own thoughts was enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One thing that Aris still hadn’t really thought about was about the cure only being a one-time resolution. Now, he didn’t know a lot about things like this, but he’d assumed that the cure acted like a vaccination, making sure that the virus couldn’t come back if the person came into contact with it again. But now it seemed that it was only a one-time dose which flushed out the virus but didn’t prevent it from returning, like a sort of passive immunity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t help but notice that since Julia’s arrival, everything had started happening at once. They’d gone six months with peace, and now all of this was going on - Aris wondered whether the girl’s appearance had unintentionally triggered something, just like how himself and Teresa had ‘triggered the ending’ of the Maze Trials. If this was the case, what was to come next?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. sixteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There's a little more plot development at the start but this chapter is basically just an insight into a night in the Safe Haven with all the friends together. <br/>The song Newt plays in this chapter is 'The Night We Met' by Lord Huron which I played religiously whilst writing the first few chapters of this fanfiction.<br/>Anyway, I hope you enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Good evening everyone. Thank you for coming at such short notice yet again,”  said Vince. “Hopefully this won’t be too much of a regular occurance. We have received another message from the PFC, this time through the telepathy connection that Aris and Teresa have. They sensibly wrote down everything they heard, but I will pick it apart for you all and tell you the most important parts.” The man cleared his throat, “The woman who spoke is Ava Paige, ex-Chancellor of WICKED. She is currently undercover for the PFC, the people who sent Julia and the note, because she doesn’t believe in the new cure that WICKED are working on…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt felt his mind wander and he disconnected from what Vince was saying, which was unsurprising considering that he’d already heard about this a few too many times today. Beside him, Thomas was tapping his fingers against his knee in a steady rhythm, like he does when he is either thinking or intently paying attention to something, and Newt began to mimic the pattern just for something to do with his hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone was listening so intently but Newt just couldn’t get his head into it; the sky was too beautiful to ignore tonight, darkness looming in over the fading blue hue of light. And there were the stars appearing before his eyes, so far away and insignificant but also so very significant in everything in this universe and beyond…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A hand closed over his own which was when Newt realised that the rhythm he’d been imitating had drawn him away from reality and far deep into his own head. It really was an endless place in there. He turned his head to look at Thomas who was watching him with a smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Earth to Newt. Pay attention,” Thomas whispered fondly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” he said. “Whoops. You lost me for a minute there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could tell.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried to tune back into the debat, which was easier now that Thomas’s hand was keeping him locked into reality, and he turned his palm over so Thomas could slide his fingers between his own. Newt could hardly keep that stupid smile off his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think it would be a good idea to contact that woman, Georgina, and see what she’s saying. If you knew her, then she’s got to be trustworthy, right?” said Jeremy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince nodded, “Georgina would hold the same beliefs as Ava in stopping WICKED, because her own daughter was taken from her. I agree that it would be a good idea to check that they really are on the same page and it’s not just another WICKED conspiracy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ava said that the PFC wants to stop WICKED,” said Minho. “And obviously I am all for that, so I think we should just send out a message and see where it gets us. There’s no harm in trying, don’t you think?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That is precisely the point. Teresa, you had something to say?” Vince extended a hand out towards the girl who cleared her throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I do,” she said. “I just think that we shouldn’t go rushing into anything without knowing any details. WICKED are trying to find a permanent cure, and we’re… what? We’re just going to stop them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ava said that it wasn’t going to work-” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but you don’t trust her so how do you know she isn’t lying?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do you think she’s lying when you’re the one who trusts her?” Thomas asked quietly, only loud enough to be heard by those near to him, including Vince and Teresa herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa looked at Thomas for a few moments, something that might have been disbelief laden in her eyes, before she turned away and focused her gaze down at the ground. It seemed like it was Teresa against the world today, but Newt’s heart held little sympathy. Whatever was going on inside her head, he hoped she worked it all out sooner rather than later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We will take that into account, Teresa, thank you,” said Vince, shooting their group a warning look. “Unless anyone has anything else pressing that they need to say, I think we can agree that we have come to our conclusion for this Gathering.” When nobody spoke, the man eagerly clasped his hands in front of his chest, “Perfect. But I just need to make this clear: it is my job to make sure that the lot of you are safe, and I need to reinforce that your safety comes before anything else. Anything that the Right Arm does from this moment onwards doesn’t have to majorly affect you unless you volunteer yourself for the cause. Is that clear to everyone?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A murmur of agreement rang through the Gathering. It felt like a huge moment; a proposition of war against WICKED where they could finally get their revenge, and righten what has been so wrong for too long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will send out a message to the other Right Arm leaders, then, so I can discuss this with them and contact Georgina. We will gather again once things have progressed. Now, go and enjoy your evening, and come to me if you have any queries. We’re all in this together, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Clapping starting from somewhere in the crowd, and suddenly everyone was on their feet cheering and laughing. It was a beautiful sound; a sound of happiness and family. Because this was a family, really. Thomas let go of Newt’s hand to join in with the applause, and Newt followed suit, allowing himself to be consumed by the beauty of this moment, despite everything. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Their group eventually retreated into the comfort of their dorm room, taking refuge amongst the pillow and blankets they used to create a cosy little nook in the middle of the room. Newt sidled up beside Thomas, leaning against the frame of the bed behind them and draping a blanket across their knees.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Crazy day, huh?” asked Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could say that. But at least it can only be better tomorrow.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t count on it, but I hope you’re right,” Thomas replied softly. “For everyone’s sake.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a strange sense of calm in the room, almost as if the day's events had finally caught up to everyone and were only now taking their toll. It was a strange contrast to how they usually were on any normal evening, but this wasn’t just any normal evening, Newt supposed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda started clambering across the little nest they’d all created, guitar in hand as she approached Newt and took a seat on his other side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fancy a lesson?” she asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, definitely. It’s taken us long enough to find the time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda laughed, “Anyone would think that our world hasn’t just been completely flipped today. I’ve had a few ideas…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt surprised himself with how quickly he picked up the song Brenda taught him, opting for a fingerstyle and strumming tune, just to fit the mood of the evening. Brenda made it look so easy, but he soon learned that it was far from that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So that’s all the chords,” Brenda said once they’d gone over the entire song. “Just remember the sequence on the strings and it’ll sound amazing. You want to sing, or shall I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Together?” asked Newt, “You start and I’ll join eventually.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda nodded, adjusting her position so she was sitting on her knees so she would be able to sing more easily. Newt would have done the same, but he’d learnt the song holding the guitar in this way and didn’t want to risk losing concentration in a new position. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself in front of his friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I’m ready,” said Newt before he began plucking at the strings in the sequence Brenda had drilled into him and moving his left hand up and down the frets. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt a lot better than he’d ever expected it to.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I am not the only traveller</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Who has not repaid his debt</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I've been searching for a trail to follow again</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Take me back to the night we met.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Newt decided to join in on the next verse, voice blending smoothly with Brenda’s as the guitar guided their voices as if it was the one in true control. He was vaguely aware that the conversations had trailed off as his friends listened to the music, some people quietly joining in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was pure magic.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I had all and then most of you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Some and now none of you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Take me back to the night we met</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I don't know what I'm supposed to do</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Haunted by the ghost of you</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, take me back to the night we met.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A few hours went by before anyone made a move for bed. A lot of them were already dressed in pyjamas, and eventually they all started trailing their pillows and blankets up to their respective beds. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Goodnight everyone,” called Harriet. “Oh, and Aris? Don’t go wandering off tomorrow morning, yeah? You gave Sonya a mini heart attack.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry about that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s not sorry,” Gally yelled. “You got to speak to the new girl first. Risky business, I’m telling you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m right here!” Julia replied from her new bed at the other end of the dorm room, “But I have to agree, Aris. No chatting up any new girls.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that what he was doing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was not!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Slim it you lot!” Minho yelled from the top of the bunk that he shared with Thomas, “None of us will get any sleep with your shuck yapping. Save your squabblin’ for the morning.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Slim it, Minho,” Thomas grumbled, launching a pillow up into the boy's face before quickly returning to his bed so as not to receive a retaliation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho groaned, mumbling something about a shank, but Newt couldn’t keep the smile off his face. This could never get old.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Their friendly banter is one of my favourite things to read and write, especially with all the Glader slang thrown in. <br/>They never fail to bring a smile to my face.<br/>The next chapter is similar in terms of banter (with even less plot development, oops) so look out for that in three days' time.<br/>Things will slowly start to pick up soon, but chapter 20 is going to mark the start of all the important events to come. Bear with me while we get there!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. seventeen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Thomas calms Newt down from his nightmare &amp; anxiety, and Glader slang is explained to Julia.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“Thomas!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt jerked awake, crying out for the boy and already clambering from beneath the bed sheets to check on him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt?” said Thomas, already pushing himself upright, “Newt, what’s wrong?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt was now standing over the boy's bed, eyes darting across his face, checking for any signs that something was wrong. He no longer felt any control over his actions. He lifted a hand to Thomas’s chest, placing his palm over his heart. Newt closed his eyes. He could feel the steady beat strong against his skin, tethering him down to reality.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt,” Thomas whispered, placing his hand over Newt’s own. “Hey, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Newt</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He snapped his eyes open, and quickly retracted his hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh God, what had he done?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he muttered, turning around to head back to his own bed, but he felt a warm hand slip quickly around his wrist, forcing him to turn back towards the boy who had been at the heart of his nightmare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt, no. Come here,” Thomas said, and began shifting across the mattress so he was pressed further up against the wall. Newt just stared at the boy with wide eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What, in your bed?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s plenty of room,” said Thomas. “Just… stay? Please?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt reluctantly crawled under the blankets so he was sitting upright beside Thomas who pulled him gently into his chest. He was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>warm</span>
  </em>
  <span> and so strong. Newt exhaled a shaky breath and leaned in closer, allowing himself to be held for just a moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Newt. Everything’s okay,” Thomas whispered. “You don’t need to worry anymore.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A stray tear escaped his eye without warning, and began rolling slowly down his cheek until he wiped it away with the back of his hand. Why was this happening to him? The urge had been so strong; so uncontrollable. He didn’t know how to deal with this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, Tommy,” Newt murmured into the fabric of Thomas’s t-shirt. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” the boy replied. “Don’t you dare apologise for this. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ever</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You hear me?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt nodded his head slightly but sighed, “I’m not fragile, I’m just- I’m just-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unsteady?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Maybe.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay to be unsteady. We’re all a little bit wobbly sometimes. Just know that you don’t have to glue yourself back together alone. No matter what this says…” Thomas ran his fingers along the tattoo under Newt’s collarbone, pushing aside the fabric of his pyjama top. Newt shivered slightly at the contact. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know what to do,” Newt whispered. “I can’t control it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, but we’ll get through this, yeah? We’ll fight it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought we were done fighting.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas took a deep breath, “Me too, Newt. Me too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So much fighting. Did the war ever end?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt eventually felt his eyelids become heavy with exhaustion, the warmth that Thomas was radiating soothing his anxiety, and he finally felt content knowing that the boy was okay and that he was close. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tired?” Thomas whispered when Newt tried to suppress a yawn.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he admitted. “Sorry, I should go back to my own bed. Let you get some sleep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No way.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Newt could fully comprehend what was happening in his sleepy state, he was laying horizontally, wrapped up in Thomas’s arms. He could feel the steady rhythm of Thomas’s breathing, and could hear the constant, reassuring beat of his heart. Sleep somehow found him a lot more easily than usual that night. Before he drifted off, though, he thought he heard Thomas murmur something, but he was too far gone to understand what he’d said.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Rise and shine!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Come on, slintheads, time to wake up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt opened his eyes, squinting into bright daylight and up at Minho leering above him, and he realised with a start that he wasn’t in his own bed. So where was he?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a low groan from beside him that made him realise: </span>
  <em>
    <span>Thomas</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was in Thomas’s bed, and here was Minho watching them with that sly smirk on his face like he just couldn’t wait to grill them about this. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You shanks have a good night?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Slim it, Minho. Leave us alone,” Thomas groaned, and Newt attempted to swat away the intruder with a pathetic flick of his hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho just laughed at them, “What time do you call this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You tell me,” Newt sighed as he finally sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, his bed hair spiking up in an unorganised disaster. Thomas followed suit, running his hands across his face and through his (a lot tidier) hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Late</span>
  </em>
  <span> is what I call it. Luckily for you shanks, none of the others have questioned your absence at breakfast just yet. Thought I’d come and wake you up myself,” Minho explained, waving a hand at the pair. “Care to explain this?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None of your business is what this is,” said Thomas. “What time is it really?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho twisted his wrist around so they could see his watch - eight thirty a.m. They’d slept in. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh God</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, get your lazy butts out of bed,” Minho said, turning his back to them and practically strutting back out of the empty dorm. They really were the last ones up this morning, for the first time in forever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt glanced at Thomas who was biting his lip, holding back a laugh, “Oops.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe we bloody </span>
  <em>
    <span>slept in!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Luckily it turned out that Minho was right, and nobody questioned them about their late arrival to breakfast - all the pair received was a raised eyebrow from Sonya and a triumphant smirk on Minho’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So?” asked Minho, “Am I going to find out why I found Newt in your bed this morning, Thomas?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas rolled his eyes at the boy, “Want to say it any louder? I don’t think everyone heard you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good idea,” Minho said, clearing his throat. “I WANT TO KNOW-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“MINHO!” Newt yelled, “Shut your bloody hole before I do it myself.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy held his hands up in defense, “Don’t worry, I wasn’t actually gonna.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt gave him a look which he hoped said </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘yeah right’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and sighed, “If you must know, Tommy helped calm me down from my nightmare last night and then we just fell asleep.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right,” said Minho. “Fair enough, I guess. You know you could have always woken me up, though?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No way. You love your beauty sleep too much. And besides, Tommy was awake anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho had the cheek to wink at him then, “Got it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt knew that Minho probably wouldn’t have shouted out to all of their friends because he respected the bond that the two boys had, even if they weren’t exactly very open with him. But he never questioned them or forced an answer or made them feel uncomfortable, and Newt really appreciated that about his friend.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyone want this toast?” Thomas asked, holding up the slice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, please,” said Newt, leaning down to take a bite of the bread from Thomas’s hand before taking it from his hand with a triumphant smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The look on Thomas’s face made him laugh out loud through a mouthful of the bread; he looked half stunned, watching as Newt finished the bite he’d taken with something like curiosity in his eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I wanted it!” Minho whined.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you should’ve been quicker,” teased Newt as he stuffed the last piece into his mouth without breaking eye contact with the other boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t believe you’re fighting over my toast,” Thomas sighed. “Shanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt noticed then that Julia had been watching the exchange with curiosity and a small smile painted across her face, now leaning slightly across the table to speak to the three boys.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been meaning to ask,” she said. “Only you three and Gally actually say it. Like... shank, is it? What does that mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The three of them snorted with laughter, though Julia wouldn’t have known why. Newt often forgot that their Glader slang was unknown to anyone but the Gladers themselves and their closest friends who regularly got the back end of their language, and anyone asking what they meant always cracked them up. For literally as long as Newt could remember, these words had been so ingrained in him that he’d forgotten when they’d actually started saying them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well,” said Minho, “Shank can be used in two different ways, it just depends on the tone. If you wanted to say it in a nice way, you’d say something like… you alright shank? But if you wanted to say it as an insult, you can just chuck it at the end of a sentence like Thomas just did. Make sense?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia nodded, “I think so. And what about the other words you say? Aris told me you have a few…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, we do,” said Thomas. “There’s slinthead which is basically another insult, there’s klunk which means poop because that’s the sound it made when it landed in the water back in the Maze. What else? Oh, shuck... that’s basically instead of a curse, and we’ll say slim it if we want someone to shut the hell up. Minho uses and receives that one a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho went to hit Thomas over the head, but he ducked so the boy swatted at the air instead, almost decapitating Newt in the process.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oi you bloody twat! Stop it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh yeah,” Minho laughed. “Then there’s him and his Britishisms that he just won’t drop, even after all this time. Where he gets them from is beyond me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt scowled at the boy, “A lot of things are beyond you, Minho.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, that’s mean!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Shouldn’t have tried to hit Tommy over the head then, should you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, so this is about </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tommy </span>
  </em>
  <span>now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Slim it, you guys,” said Julia, with a wink in Newt’s direction and a proud smile at using their slang. “Did you hear that noise?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please God, not you too,” Aris piped up from her other side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? No! That rumbling noise! I don’t have telepathy, who do you think I am?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia was right about the noise. There was a low, distinctive rumble in the distance of a Berg coming closer. If Vince hadn’t warned them that some of the Right Arm leaders were flying in today, this would have been a huge source of commotion - no other Berg’s left or entered this airspace except for when Vince needed to go to irregular meetings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They’re finally arriving,” Thomas sighed. “At least some progress will be made today, and then we’re one step closer to destroying WICKED.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt found the boy’s hand under the table and squeezed gently, “And revenge will be ours.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Finally.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So there are going to be 50 chapters by the time this is complete, and the entire thing will be around 100,000 words. I'm currently writing chapter 49 :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. eighteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The Right Arm leaders arrived one by one throughout the rest of the morning and way into the afternoon, all their Berg’s lining the usually-empty landing port. Aris knew that he would probably be called into a meeting with all of them and Teresa soon, to be questioned yet again on Ava’s message. He wasn’t sure why everyone felt the need to quiz him on it; he’d heard the exact thing that everyone else had already read on that piece of paper but, alas, he would have to sit in yet another meeting when he could have been working outside in the glorious sunshine all alone with no interruptions and the steady rhythm of the fields. Still, at least he was helping out in some way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He repeated this thought all the way down to the classrooms for said anticipated meeting upon Teresa’s telepathic warning that they were both, in fact, required. Predictable, though maybe slightly disconcerting that they already didn’t trust the words of Ava Paige. To be fair, however, neither did he at first.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Aris pushed open the specified door to the classroom they were to have the meeting in and all eyes immediately slid to him, like tiny bullets burning holes in his skin. There were around fifteen other Right Arm leaders in the room, a mix of both males and females, and a range of different races and ages. He managed a small smile before half scrambling to the empty chair beside Teresa who acknowledged his presence with a subtle wave of her hand. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks for coming, you two,” said Vince. “I’ve caught everyone up on the message from Ava, but we all agreed that you two should probably be here for this as well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re glad we can be of some use,” Teresa answered for both of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris didn’t voice his own opinion because he had to admit that he was curious to know what was going to go down in this meeting, considering that everything seemed to lie on the outcome these leaders came out with. To put it simply, this was one very important meeting. And truth be told, Aris felt somewhat proud that he was considered important enough to be involved with this decision, and didn’t want to say anything that might change that position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks for waiting to voice your opinions,” Vince said, directly addressing the other leaders. “But now you can go ahead, say anything you think we should consider when going into this. Lisa, you wanted to make a point earlier?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman, Lisa, nodded. “Yes, I wanted to say that we can’t forget that it was the PFC who formed WICKED sixteen years ago. So unless they’ve re-adjusted their policies then we need to be really careful how we tread.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And what’s this about a girl arriving at your Safe Haven?” one of the men asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa explained everything about Julia that they needed to know: the second Maze Trials, the enzyme extraction through simulation and her arrival a few days ago. She made sure to make them aware that she could be trusted, even though Ava herself had said the exact same thing in her telepathic message, just to make it clear. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s why we need to get the Immunes out of there,” said Aris once Teresa had finished speaking. “To stop them from being tortured like they are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa pursed her lips and frowned, “But we still don’t have enough information to know that the cure they’re working on isn’t actually going to work, which is why we need the help of the PFC and Ava Paige to provide us with this information before we go running blindly into anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So we can contact Georgina who apparently has ties to the PFC, according to what Ava said. I think that sounds reasonable,” said a blonde-haired woman.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few others agreed in murmurs and nods, bringing a hopeful smile to Aris’s face. He was just glad that they hadn’t immediately discredited the idea.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do any of you happen to have Georgina’s Netblock contact?” Vince asked the group, “Obviously she was with the Right Arm for a while…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, and then she left unexpectedly when her daughter went missing around seven months ago,” a woman explained. “She never was the same after that. Such a shame. She was a lovely woman and her daughter was-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Garcia?” Vince gently interrupted, “A contact?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman raised a finger and pulled out a notepad from her bag, flipping through its pages until she landed on one particular page, and handed the notebook to Vince. Aris could just make out some words and a strange sequence of codes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Her Netblock contact,” said Garcia, “Still active, I believe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince scribbled the number down on a scrap piece of paper with a small smile on his face. This Georgina woman thankfully sounded trustworthy, and these people seemed to have fond memories of her. Aris couldn’t help but wonder about the missing daughter Garcia had mentioned; where could she possibly be now, if she was even still alive? Out in a world like this, the chances of survival would be slim.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t understand why the PFC wants to join with us,” one of the men stated. “I get that we can use them for information about this cure and the Immunes, but what’s in it for them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’ll have to see when we talk to them, and weigh it all up together. It can’t hurt to have more allies, anyway, so maybe think about it that way. This could be a big opportunity for both organisations,” said Vince. “With our Safe Havens and whatever they have, we could be what the world needs to come back stronger than ever.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we’re all in agreement with you, Vince, but should we take a vote?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, let’s. Anyone</span>
  <em>
    <span> against</span>
  </em>
  <span> contacting Georgina and the PFC, raise your hand now or forever hold your peace.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Silence settled over the room, and not a single hand was raised. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It seemed that this was settled, then. And Aris had to admit that he was glad, albeit slightly overwhelmed, that it had been so easy to get the leaders onboard. Maybe they had bigger ideas than just getting the Immunes out of WICKED, but that was what he and his friends had their sights set on, and it felt like a huge step in the direction of liberty.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Perfect,” said Vince. “That’s that settled, then. I will send off a message to Georgina now, but the rest of you can just mingle if you like or take a look around our Safe Haven. Just try not to get in the way of the workers, eh? I know what you can be like, Lydia.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman threw up her hands in defense with a laugh before Vince left the classroom and everyone came to stand. Aris looked to Teresa who seemed to be just as unsure as he was with what the two of them were supposed to do, but eventually he stood from his chair and started to make his way out of the room to get back to the fields. To his surprise, he was stopped by a man who extended his hand out in greeting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rafael,” he said. “Pleasure to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris shook his hand politely, “And you, sir.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wanted to say I really admire your attitude towards all this, despite everything you’ve been put through in the past. It would be so easy to curl up and try to forget, but here you are fighting back for what you believe in,” said Rafael, “That really takes some bravery.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, sir, that means a lot.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope we’ll meet again,” said Rafael before allowing Aris to pass him by.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a nod of gratitude, Aris left the room with his head spinning, unable to keep the grin off his face. All they needed now was for Georgina to reply to Vince’s Netblock message then they could finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally, </span>
  </em>
  <span>gain some closure.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Vince called everyone together for a Gathering not long before they were meant to be finishing work, clearly having received a response from Georgina. There was a buzz in the air - a mix of excitement and nerves to hear how the PFC responded through Georgina. A lot seemed to rest on that woman’s shoulders.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks for cutting short your work,” started Vince. “Now, this morning I sent off a message to Georgina Woodward stating that the Right Arm would like to meet with the PFC to talk about this proposition that Ava spoke of. And now we have a response. She sent us the location of the PFC and has asked for us to meet with them there as soon as we are able to. What she also asked is for some people with previous ties to WICKED to come with us.” This final statement encouraged a few murmurs amongst Aris’s friends, but Vince continued, “She didn’t say why so I don’t want any of you to feel like you have to come, but if anyone is interested then come and speak to me soon. I’d like us to leave early tomorrow morning, so don’t leave it too late.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>An opportunity to leave the Safe Haven and visit this mysterious PFC? Was this even </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It would be the first time that anyone other than Vince had left the Safe Haven, so none of them knew what was out there or what the world looked like now. But how many people here actually had ties to WICKED? Aside from Aris’s group of friends, there couldn’t be many, if any.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris knew that his and Teresa’s telepathy could be useful in this situation to communicate and update each other on what’s going on, and obviously they also had their memories, so either one of them could volunteer to go. Then there was Brenda and Jorge who had worked for WICKED for a while, and Gally who had the Swipe removed (even though he never talked about </span>
  <em>
    <span>before</span>
  </em>
  <span>). All of the other Gladers and Group B could also go, based purely off of their intense hatred of WICKED. So, any of them could have the option of volunteering.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I want in,” Minho said almost immediately. “I don’t care that I don’t have my memories. If these people are going to help us bring down WICKED then I’m in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda nodded, “Me too. Obviously I worked for them, so that’s quite a significant ‘previous tie’.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And me,” said Aris, before explaining how they can use his and Teresa’s telepathy, to which the girl quickly agreed on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So that was three of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody else looked as if they were going to volunteer any time soon, except for Thomas who was nibbling at his nails, mouth opening and closing a few times before he came to his final decision.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think… maybe I should go, too,” he said, “You said that I was Ava’s favourite, so maybe I could use that to our advantage if I need to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That would work,” said Brenda, “So that’s four of us. Anyone else want in on our little field trip?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everyone else shook their heads, kindly declining the offer. For a second it looked as if Newt was going to say something, but he quickly clenched his jaw tightly shut with a single glance in Thomas’s direction. Whatever thought he’d been having had been clearly pushed hastily aside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess that’s settled then.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>We're slowly getting there!<br/>This chapter probably wasn't all entirely necessary but I really wanted to include the Right Arm leaders and show their influence on decisions. <br/>So: Thomas, Minho, Brenda and Aris are all going to the PFC...<br/>How do we feel about that?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. nineteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I guess that’s settled then.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt wanted more than anything to say that he, too, would go with the other four to the PFC, but these were the thoughts he had that prevented him from saying anything in the few seconds he had to deliberate with himself:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Number one: he wasn’t Immune. For all he knew, these people could be a bunch of cranks and infect him again. Yes, he could always receive the cure, but…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Number two: he didn’t know how safe a double dose would be, and didn’t want to cause an epidemic throughout the non-Immunes of the Safe Haven if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>bring it back here. Their cure supply was limited, anyway, considering that they were one of the Safe Havens that hadn’t invited in Cranks (except for himself, of course).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Number three: it might be good for him to face up to the urges while the others were gone. Molly might call it something like exposure therapy. At least then he would know that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>can </span>
  </em>
  <span>fight it without acting on the thoughts (unless he just ended up in a much worse state and being incapable of dealing with it, but let’s not consider that for now).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All of this was going on inside Newt’s head in a matter of seconds; he supposed that he would rather work all this out by himself than be inevitably talked out of the idea by his friends, so he saved them the effort by simply doing it himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt could feel Thomas’s warm gaze on his skin, but he refused to look the boy in the eye in case he caved under the realisation that, yes, Thomas really was going to be leaving without him. What he didn’t need right now was that looming feeling of panic: a tightening of the chest, a flutter of the heart and a surge of adrenaline through his veins.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not today, thank you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m having a shower,” Newt mumbled to no one in particular. “I’ll see you guys later.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He knew that if he stayed there much longer then he would definitely begin to regret his decision and go against what he just talked himself out of. And, anyway, one way to avoid the panic would be to simply walk away from it, right? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt! Wait up!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned around just as he was walking by the dorms to see Thomas running up behind him, his hair slightly matted against the slight breeze coming from the sea. It took only a second for him to compose himself. (Once a Runner, always a Runner. Ha.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” asked Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Tommy, I’m fine. Just needed to take a shower.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I mean… about all this. Are you okay with this? Are you going to be okay? Because you know I don’t have to go-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Listen to me,” Newt interrupted, reaching out to take Thomas’s hand in his own. “You’re going. And I’m not going to stop you and neither are your doubts about it. Good that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we talk about this? Please?” Thomas asked with a sigh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Just let me have this shower first, then we’ll talk.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When Newt returned to their dorm he found Thomas pacing the room, playing with his hands and muttering quietly to himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mind that hole you’ve worn in the floor,” Newt teased when he stepped through the doorway, drying his damp hair with a not-so-fluffy, off-white towel.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas reached forward to punch him playfully in the arm when he approached, before leading them both to sit on his bed, “Hey! I was trying to think.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah? How did that go?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not well,” Thomas sighed with slight exaggeration.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on then, Tommy. Talk to me. What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas smirked slightly, “You think I’m pretty?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, pretty boy. Spill.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After graciously accepting the compliment, Thomas started talking about how he didn’t want to leave if it was going to be any sort of detriment to Newt, because he knew that he might find things difficult with him being gone and not being able to know if everyone was okay. He explained that he wanted to go but didn’t mind if he stayed because he trusted the others to do a good enough job without him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Newt shook his head, “They need you there, there’s no doubt about that. You’re probably the greatest asset to that team, what with Ava being fond of you and all that. I don’t need you worrying your socks off about me, y’know. I can talk to Sonya about it. And maybe it’ll be good for me to know that I can overcome the urges when I need to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas seemed to consider this as he bit down on his lower lip. Maybe the little hope he’d managed to salvage would ignite a spark somewhere for Thomas, starting a wildfire to burn away the excessive guilt he was experiencing about leaving.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good that?” Newt asked gently.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took him a moment, but Thomas eventually nodded, “Good that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Newt bundled the boy beside him into a hug, he prayed that everything was going to be as okay as he was saying it would be. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Newt couldn’t sleep that night. He’d been staring up at the ceiling for what felt like hours as he listened to everyone sleep peacefully around him as anxiety ate at his insides.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was why he jumped when Thomas inhaled sharply from his bed, sitting bolt upright and almost falling out from under the blankets. He was breathing hard as he came down from what appeared to be a particularly bad nightmare.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You okay?” Newt whispered into the darkness, lifting his head from his pillow just enough to see the boy raking a hand through his hair and across his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas replied after taking a moment to catch his breath, “Yeah, fine. Sorry, did I wake you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, you didn’t. Nightmare?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Thomas sighed as he sat himself up against the wall, head falling back against it with such dispirit that it made Newt’s heart ache.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without really thinking about it, Newt slid out from under his duvet, bracing himself against the cool air on his bare arms as he padded the short distance over to Thomas and perched at the edge of his mattress. The boy’s eyes were closed and his cheeks were slightly damp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay. It wasn’t real.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt traced a thumb across his cheek to wipe away a single tear, and watched as Thomas’s eyelashes fluttered open so softly and sleepily. He looked a rough-around-the-edges kind of beautiful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was… it was about you,” said Thomas. “You got infected again and you… you…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay, Tommy, I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt crawled under the blankets and allowed the boy to rest his head on his shoulder, rubbing comforting circles onto the back of his hand. He could feel him trembling slightly and that was almost enough to break his heart. They were all tormented by nightmares, even though the worst had been over for months, but that fact never made it any easier.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What time are you leaving?” asked Newt, hoping a distraction might help.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Six. My watch will wake me at five or something like that. I couldn’t see the numbers properly when I set it,” Thomas mumbled before yawning deeply.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You should go back to sleep,” Newt suggested. “Get as much as you can, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For a moment, he was afraid that Thomas might have fallen asleep just like that, with his head still resting against Newt’s shoulder. But, thankfully, he shifted position and clung tighter to Newt’s arm which elicited an amused smile from them both. (Thomas being clingy was extremely adorable, but Newt would never admit that out loud.)</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm. But you’re staying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So this was how the two boys ended up curled up in Thomas’s bed for a second night in a row. Thomas was so warm beside him, like he was radiating heat, which instantly made Newt feel drowsy with a pair of arms wrapped around him and the feeling of warm breath against his neck. If they weren’t careful, they could definitely get used to this.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. twenty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The italics at the beginning are another of Aris's dreams/memories, and this one is another piece from The Fever Code. It was originally from Thomas's perspective, when Minho was punished for trying to sneak out at night, but I thought it would interesting to see it from Aris's perspective, as someone who didn't really know Minho at that point.<br/>Just to make something clear if it isn't already: the dreams/memories that Aris has aren't remembered when he wakes up, for reasons you'll find out later in the story. So when he wakes up and doesn't ponder the dream, that is why.<br/>Also, another point: there is a lot more action starting from the next chapter, I promise. Reading back everything I've uploaded so far, I can see that I probably spent a little too much time before everything kicks off. But hey, this is the first proper story I've written with actual plot, and has been a huge learning curve for me.<br/>Anyway, that's all from me, hope you enjoy the chapter!<br/>Xx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>What’re you going to do to him?” Aris asked, suddenly seized by panic.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The screen in front of him showed an image of a small room with a boy strapped to the chair in the centre. His face was bloodied and bruised, and the ropes were digging into his skin. He looked terrified - his skin was pale and his eyes were wide with fear. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“It seems that this young man didn’t learn his lesson the first time around, so we are having to take extreme measures so he will learn.” Randall said.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What did he do?” asked Aris.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The man moved around to Aris’s right side and took a seat beside him. “He and some of the others were caught outside the other night. Then, Minho here decided to take another little trip out with the hope of escape. We didn’t want it to come to this…” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Randall placed his hands on the outer edge of the control deck and leaned forward, closer to Aris. “I know you had no involvement whatsoever in this boy’s wrongdoing, Aris. But there are some valuable lessons to be learned from all this, and we’re going to take advantage of the situation.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Aris wished desperately that the guy would make his point already.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You are going to sit with us and watch how we’re going to teach Minho his lesson. We need witnesses, to be frank. We need the word to get around. We can’t let something like this ever happen again. Our subjects need to know that actions have consequences.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What’re you going to do to him?” Aris shouted, scared for this poor boy he didn’t even know.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Randall flinched at his sudden outburst, then continued as if he hadn’t heard the question. “After this is done, we’ll bring in Rachel and show her. Thomas and Teresa have already watched it in the control room for Group A. But we wanted you to be alone on this, so your reactions are not influenced by friends.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s also a big step in another way,” Dr Leavitt added, “The Maze Trials will be only a year or two from now, based on our current pace, and this?” He gestured around the room, “This is something you’re going to see a lot of once we put the first batch of subjects into the mazes. So look at this little exercise as practice. Sound good?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Aris remained quiet, rage building in his stomach so strongly he could barely contain it. But he nodded his head stiffly, wishing for this to be over already.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Randall pointed to a different screen, and Aris could see an oval container of some sort. It looked like a coffin for a deformed monster.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“What’s that?” Aris asked.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Those are pods. For the biomechanical creature we’ve designed called Grievers. I think we’re just two modifications away from having our perfect Maze monster.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Aris was taken aback by this sudden flood of information. Grievers? Monsters in the Maze? He forced himself to close his mouth and nod once more.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Let’s get on with it.” Randall said. He reached over and pressed something. “Go ahead, Alice. Open the pod.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Aris watched as the seam alongside the oval pod split open. Jets of steam hissed from the opening, obscuring the view of the pod itself. He glanced at the screen showing Minho in the chair, but the boy had already turned his face away from the pod, tears streaming down his face.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tell me this is a recording.” Aris said suddenly, as he realised the situation.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>The look on Randall’s face told him all he needed to know. This was not a recording. Minho had already experienced this twice, and was yet to experience it twice more. Aris stood up, his skin cold.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Stop it!” Aris yelled, “Stop that… thing! I get it, okay?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Whatever he had expected, he never could have dreamed up what he saw next. The creature was wet and glistening, with patches of hair covering parts of its surface. There was metal, too - flashes of steel appendages, and sharp discs protruding from the quivering mass. Aris watched the hideous creature push itself over the lip of the container and crash down to the floor.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can’t do this.” Aris sobbed, but he knew he had no control, no say. They could do whatever the hell they wanted. Including this.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Minho was struggling and screaming in the chair. The boy's face was contorted in pure fear. The metal arms that had extended from the creature's skin were wrapping around the boy, encircling him, trapping him against the wall. A blade spun to life from within the appendage, the arm inching closer and closer to Minho’s forehead.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Stop this!” Aris yelled, “Please! I’ll do anything, just make it stop!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Randall pressed the call button again, “Pause,” he commanded, and the creature froze.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Five a.m. arrived too quickly, bringing with it a crisp morning air and a layer of dew coating each individual blade of grass. The Safe Haven was deathly silent, the only sound coming from the slight creak of the cafeteria doors as Aris eased them carefully open. He was the first one here, before all of the Right Arm leaders, even, and he headed straight for the refreshments table to make himself a coffee; he was going to need it more than ever today. It was eerily quiet alone in the cafeteria, and Aris jumped the second the doors burst open with a screech of noise.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell me, where is the coffee?” Thomas groaned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where it always is,” Aris replied with a hint of sarcasm. “And keep it down, you’ll be waking up the whole damn Safe Haven soon with that noise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He noticed that Newt had followed Thomas in through the doors, somehow awake at this hour despite having no apparent reason to be; they’d said all their goodbyes to each other last night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Thomas drawled and sluggishly started making himself a mug of coffee. Newt came to sit down opposite Aris, rubbing drearily at his eyes. The boy still looked half asleep.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you doing up so early?” asked Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt shrugged and laid his head onto his folded arms on the table - well, they could certainly all relate to that this morning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Want a coffee Newt?” Thomas called, turning to look at the boy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt shook his head as best he could while keeping his head on the table, “I’m good, thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t look it,” said Thomas as he sat down beside the boy, ruffling his hair. Newt groaned and lifted his head, eyes squinting into the light as he reached for Thomas’s mug and took a single sip before returning it to him without a word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris laughed at the boy, “Still sure you don’t want your own coffee?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can share mine.” said Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are Minho and Brenda on their way?” asked Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I woke up Minho and he threw a pillow at me,” Thomas explained, “Brenda was already awake, I think she was going to take a shower.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As if on cue, Minho threw himself through the doors, “Morning shanks!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Seriously, why could nobody simply open the doors today? Why did they all have to burst through like they had an entrance to make?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why so enthusiastic, Minho?” Newt groaned, but the boy didn’t seem to hear the retort. Like all the others, he made himself a coffee and grabbed a piece of fruit from the basket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know, coffee on an empty stomach is not good for you,” Minho explained when he came to sit on the table and began stuffing the food into his mouth. “Also, why do we have to be up this early?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have to be, if we want to be there by afternoon,” said Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho grunted, the sounds of him eating the only sound filling the room, with Newt now glaring at the boy with his mouth set in a hard line. Their relationship was always hilarious to watch when Newt was irritated by something Minho had done - they’d known each other for so long, and it still felt like Aris was just skimming the surface with the boys. His relationships with the girls were very different to what these three had with each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here she is,” Thomas announced as Brenda entered the cafeteria, a lot more quietly than the other two, thank goodness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good morning, what a beautiful day for a six hour flight!” Brenda exclaimed, coming to sit down with them. “Look at you lot with all your coffees, are your poor brains not able to function without it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just because you don’t drink it,” Minho said defensively.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s vile and you know it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris’s group eventually got around to putting some food into their bodies, despite it being far too early for their stomachs, Aris settling on some plain toast so it wouldn’t feel uneasy inside him during the flight. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should go and meet Vince,” said Thomas, glancing at his watch, “He’s expecting us to meet him at the landing port in a minute.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, we should leave,” said Minho, scooping up his bowl and mug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Leave these,” Newt said, gesturing to the dirty crockery. “I’ll do them when you’ve left.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure?” Aris asked him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt nodded, “Course. I need something to do to keep me busy before the others all wake up, don’t I?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, Newt. As long as you’re sure,” said Brenda.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt smiled at them and stood up from the bench, the others all following suit. Each of them had a rucksack filled with clothes and water that Vince had made them pack last night, and Aris flung his over one shoulder before marching out of the doors, getting a faceful of cool air. If it wasn’t for his sturdy boots, his feet would have been soaked from how damp the grass was. He was grateful that he didn’t have to work in the fields later because the soil would be an absolute nightmare to work with.  The stillness and peace of the Safe Haven was extremely apparent as they walked in silence across the grass and towards where the Bergs all sat almost dormant in the landing port. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince and some of the Right Arm leaders had beaten them there, and the man was standing with his hands on his hips on the ramp leading up to the doors. “What time do we call this?” he asked, a small smile flickering across his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Two minutes late, man.” Minho whined, “We tried, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince clapped the boy on the arm, “I’m just kidding, you’re fine.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man’s eyes flicked up to where Newt was standing beside Thomas, hands shoved into his coat pockets, “The farewell party?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The one and only, it seems.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all laughed at his response, but he was correct; nobody else would bother getting up so early just to see them leaving on the Berg, but that was just the kind of thing Newt would do as the second-in-command from the Glade.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, you can say your goodbyes. We’re leaving in two minutes sharp, though, once Nella warms up the engine,” said Vince, winking at the five of them before turning on his heel and striding up the ramp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho was the first to hug Newt, slapping his back, “Look after everyone for us. Don’t let this place get too messy while we’re gone, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt rolled his eyes, “It’s not like you’re going away for a week or something. A day or so, and that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>it</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A lot could happen in a few days,” Minho added, raising his eyebrows. He was right, a lot </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> happened in a few days. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris leaned in to hug Newt, “I’ll keep you updated. Well, I’ll keep Teresa updated. You want to know or say anything, you ask her.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. Thanks for this, mate.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda was next to briefly hug Newt before allowing Thomas to say his own goodbyes, but the boy stepped back slightly away from them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh… can you give us a minute?” Thomas asked quietly, almost bashfully.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure,” Minho said quickly. “See you later, Newt.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris followed Minho up the ramp after giving Newt a final smile, but couldn’t help but feel curious as to why Thomas couldn’t speak in front of the rest of them. It was none of his business, though, so he shook away the thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>NEWT:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tomorrow,” Newt repeated, closing his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas took his hand and started tracing his thumb over Newt’s knuckles in a circular motion reassuringly. He could feel the boy’s warmth contrasting the cold air around them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re going to be okay,” Thomas sighed, pulling Newt into a tight hug. “But </span>
  <em>
    <span>God</span>
  </em>
  <span> I’m going to miss you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s less than two days, Tommy, you’ll live. And you have important things to be doing out in the world,” Newt explained, his words muffled against Thomas’s coat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stood there, holding each other in a tight embrace as the seconds counted on and their time wound down. Newt placed a soft kiss to the boy’s cheek when it became apparent that Thomas would cling onto him for as long as he was allowed, hoping that it might be enough to gather a response. But, of course, it backfired and Thomas simply pulled him ever closer against his chest. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tommy,” Newt murmured, pulling back slightly to look the boy in the eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Thomas whined at the loss of contact and rush of cold air between them, again trying to close the distance Newt had created. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Tommy,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Newt tried again. “Hey, look at me. There’s plenty of time for this when you get back, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You promise?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas smiled then, mouth tugging up at the corners, “I’ll see you soon.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You bloody better,” said Newt. “Now go, before they leave without you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They wouldn’t really. See you in a day or two.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A day or two,” Newt echoed as he reluctantly released Thomas’s hand that he hadn’t even realised he’d been gripping onto until now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But to Newt’s surprise, Thomas leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss to his lips before pulling back and finally turning away. He watched with a heavy heart as the ramp eventually retracted and the doors sealed shut behind Thomas, cutting him off and leaving Newt standing watching alone as the Berg ascended slowly into the air.  Newt watched it leave until he could no longer hear the rumble of the engine, and the ship disappeared into the darkness, out of sight.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. twenty one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Aaaand we're off to meet the PFC...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Thomas bound onto the Berg, definitely over the time limit Vince had set for them, and flopped into one of the seats lining the main room. There were a few rooms off of the main one, Aris realised, including a kitchen-like space, multiple empty rooms and one with mattresses lining the floor (random, but potentially useful).</p><p>“You good, Thomas?” Minho had asked when the boy leant back in his chair with a sigh, an unreadable expression on his face.</p><p>“Yeah, I’m good.”</p><p>“Everything okay with Newt?” asked Brenda.</p><p>Thomas nodded, “He’s fine. We’re fine.”</p><p>The flight was about six hours long, from the Safe Haven on the coast of Oregon all the way to somewhere near Toronto, Canada (coordinates courtesy of the mysterious Georgina Woodward), meaning that the time difference of their destination would be plus three hours. This wouldn’t be much of a problem for them but one of the Right Arm leaders, Mary, suggested that they tried to stay awake during this flight so they would actually be able to sleep tonight. Aris wasn’t exactly sure where they were going to sleep tonight but, if needed, at least this Berg had plenty of mattresses. </p><p>Considering that they’d woken up at five a.m. that morning, staying awake deemed harder than expected. Thomas dozed off after the first thirty minutes and he was out for around half an hour before Aris finally got the guts to wake him up (he already had dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept so well last night, so he figured that a few minutes of extra sleep wouldn’t hurt.) Minho had grown more and more restless as each hour passed, pacing the floor as if he was trying to wear <em> it </em> out or himself. After the first hour of this, Brenda finally snapped and forced the boy to sit down and indulge in some sort of conversation. Nobody was particularly chatty that morning, but you couldn’t blame them for being nervous about meeting these PFC people. The future of the whole country and possibly the whole <em> world </em>was laying on their shoulders today. </p><p>It finally hit Aris when they were just a few minutes away from landing that he might be about to see Ava Paige, the woman who had practically raised him. What was even stranger was the fact that Thomas wouldn’t recognise her even though he was the one who had spent the most time with her before the Maze. He couldn’t imagine how bizarre that would feel for Thomas, knowing that he knew the woman but not being able to remember her. </p><p>“Are you nervous?” Thomas asked, snapping Aris from his thoughts.</p><p>“A little. But I’m excited to finally see who these people really are.”</p><p>Thomas nodded as he stood up to stretch and roll out his neck, “Have you heard from Teresa?”</p><p>“I’ll tell you if I do, don’t worry. Besides, I don’t want to bother her too much.”</p><p>“I’m sure she won’t mind. You’re her best friend, after all.”</p><p>Aris sighed, “Yeah, I don’t know about that.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“It’s just… ever since we got that telepathy message from Ava, she’s been avoiding me. I don’t think she appreciated me saying that it was Ava who drugged you before the Maze,” Aris admitted.</p><p>“That was weird how she reacted, but I’m sure there’s a reason in there somewhere. You know how girls can be. All mysterious and confusing and… y’know…”</p><p>Aris <em> did </em>know. He’d been stuck in a Maze with a bunch of girls, after all. But he knew that they were also the most fearless, smart and downright incredible people that he had ever met. Maybe this was why Teresa avoiding him felt this strange; he’d come to (at least partly) understand that other half of the human race, and not knowing what was going on with her made him feel uneasy. </p><p>Thomas was right. There probably was a reason in there somewhere. </p><p>The Berg began to shudder slightly, and Aris could feel the slow descent through the floor as they prepared to land. His nerves spiked almost immediately, and he had to remind himself to take deep breaths in order to steady the slight tremor that started in his hands.</p><p>“We’re coming in for a landing!” Vince called from the doorway of the control room, as if they couldn’t already tell, “Let’s get ready to go meet these people.”</p><p>A whoop came from one of the Right Arm leaders, and Aris couldn’t help but feel the thrill of anticipation building in his stomach. Six hours on this Berg and he was very much ready to get out into the fresh air - it would be noon in the Safe Haven now, but it was three p.m. here in Toronto which Aris struggled to wrap his head around. </p><p>Everyone began to assemble in the main room after Vince announced their landing, packing up their bags and slinging them onto their shoulders in a hurry to get off this ship as quickly as possible. </p><p>“Are we all good?” asked Vince when everyone was finally together, “I’d give you a pep talk, but I haven’t really got anything to say that you haven’t already heard.”</p><p>“Be careful. Don’t die,” said Minho.</p><p>“Great. We’re all bloody inspired,” Thomas said through his laughter, putting on a completely terrible British accent. </p><p>Minho slapped the boy on the arm and they continued giggling away as if they weren’t just about to meet a bunch of people they knew nothing about but who wanted to save the world with them. Their laughter was strangely liberating.</p><p>The ramp of the Berg began creaking open when they finally landed, slivers of sunlight creeping in through the cracks with a slice of cold air.</p><p>It was temporarily blinding standing there in the doorway, but Aris’s eyes adjusted quickly. He moved forwards down the ramp, eyes fixed on the building before them which seemed to be a small complex, possibly an office, but definitely not anything he’d been expecting. Aris wasn’t exactly sure what he<em> had </em> been expecting if he was honest.</p><p>“Whew,” Minho whistled when they’d all gathered on the grass outside.</p><p>It was kind of overwhelming being so exposed out here when there were potentially a lot of people inside that building watching them; the windows were tinted dark, so they had no chance of seeing anyone inside. That’s if there even <em> was </em> anyone inside. It seemed so strangely silent.</p><p>“Do you reckon anyone’s home?” asked one of the leaders.</p><p>The man was answered by the creak of a door and a woman walking out towards them with a brisk stride to her step; Aris was relieved to see that she was smiling.</p><p>“Hi, I’m Sarah,” she said, holding out a hand. “It’s lovely to meet you all. I’m so glad you had a safe journey here.”</p><p>She looked like she was in her early thirties, but had dark circles around her eyes as if she hadn’t had a break in a while. She had a warm smile which crinkled the corners of her eyes and slightly dimpled her cheeks.</p><p>“Vince,” the man said when he shook her hand. “These are a few of my fellow Right Arm leaders, and some Immunes who have ties to WICKED.”</p><p>“Perfect. But please, come inside. It’s far too cold to be standing around out here,” Sarah said, and gestured for the group to follow behind her when she began walking back towards the door she’d first appeared from.</p><p>The cold air felt like it was slicing through Aris’s skin. They definitely hadn’t prepared for these temperatures, and his light coat was not enough to keep out the icy hands squeezing and grasping at him. It was a huge difference from the temperature and weather back in Oregon; it looked like it could snow here at any moment, but it was practically spring now back at home.</p><p>“Is it always this cold?” Thomas asked, his teeth visibly chattering.</p><p>Sarah laughed, “It’s been worse. This is just the back end of winter now. I’m guessing it’s warmer for you where you’re staying?”</p><p>“We wouldn’t survive the winter if it was like this,” Aris answered.</p><p>“Where exactly are you based?”</p><p>Vince butted in before anyone else could answer, “That’s private information, I’m afraid.”</p><p>Sarah nodded, and didn’t press the matter any further. Aris understood why Vince would be careful about their location; if things didn’t go well today, they didn’t need to risk anyone knowing their location if they couldn’t be trusted.</p><p>“Why do you need such a huge space?” one of the leaders asked, “Surely you don’t have that many people working with you?”<br/>
“It was a matter of convenience,” Sarah explained. “When the PFC reformed, we needed somewhere off the grid and unfamiliar to anyone but us. And you may be surprised about our numbers. It’s not just bringing down WICKED we’re interested in, but following up everything that the PFC used to do as an organisation after the Sun Flares and before the virus was released.”</p><p>“What do your numbers look like?”</p><p>Sarah swiped a key card through a machine when they reached the small doorway and the monitor beeper, releasing the lock, “See for yourself.”</p><p>Aris was the first of their group to enter the building, directly behind Sarah, and he took a good slow look around the inside of this place. He was taken aback by what he saw: rows of computers lined a long wooden table running the length of the room, every screen currently occupied. There were people scattered everywhere; sat at computers, walking between other rooms branching off and generally mingling around. It felt instantly like an office but reminded Aris so much of the WICKED building, just a lot more open plan. They were greeted by a few staring faces, but most people either ignored them completely or nodded at Sarah as they passed.</p><p>“I’ll give you a quick tour,” said Sarah. “It looks bigger from the outside than it actually is, I promise.”</p><p>Aris fell into step beside Thomas, desperate to not be leading the group anymore. He felt so exposed in this unfamiliar and daunting place.</p><p>“This is quite something,” Thomas murmured.</p><p>“You could say that,” Aris agreed, and he craned his neck to look up at the ceiling. It was meters high, fluorescent lights hanging from a beam that went across the entire ceiling, one end to the other. </p><p>“We’re currently in what we call the Hub, where a lot of information is sourced and planning is done. I can explain a bit more about what they’re actually doing a bit later,” Sarah said, gesturing around the room. “This door just here to your left leads through to where some meetings happen, but it’s literally just a smaller room with some desks in it. I won’t show you now because I think there’s a meeting going on.”</p><p>Sarah continued along the wall and Aris noticed how there were post-it notes and pieces of paper tacked up alongside random scribbles, photos and annotated maps.</p><p>“The next room is just a supply cupboard, then we have the dining room and assembly hall,” Sarah pushed open the large doors, allowing the group to wander inside, Aris following behind Thomas this time. Tables were scattered across the whole room, similar to their own cafeteria back home, and there was an open kitchen right at the back. Not a single person was in there at the moment, despite the amount of people that were currently inside the Hub.</p><p>“Meal times are one and seven, but breakfast is help yourself,” Sarah explained. “They’re allowed to start working whenever they want, but have fixed to-do lists for each day and things they need to accomplish by certain deadlines.”</p><p>“You say ‘they’ as if you aren’t one of them,” Vince acknowledged.</p><p>“Yes, my own schedule is slightly different. More on that later.” She began ushering them out again, back into the Hub, “There are rooms on the other side of this wall, not worth me showing you, but it’s where everyone sleeps and goes when they’re not working.”</p><p>Aris peered through the small window in the door leading to what looked like a long hallway - it was carpeted through there, a lot more homely than in these main rooms, but he still couldn’t imagine living in literally the same building that you worked in. He wouldn’t be able to deal with how cooped up it all was. </p><p>“Ah, the control room,” said Sarah, pushing open yet another metal door. “This is where we give and receive messages, and keep track of everything going on that we need to survey.”</p><p>“Hey, Sarah!” a man called. “Is this them?” </p><p>“It certainly is, Michael. Everyone, this is Michael. He’s our chief tech guy, an absolute expert in it all.”</p><p>Michael was tall, and had to look down at them all when he approached, his shaggy brown hair flopping into his eyes. “Careful, you’ll give me a big head,” he joked. “Pleasure to meet you all. We’ve been looking forward to meeting you since you made contact with our Georgina.”</p><p>Aris nodded at the guy but it was Vince who spoke first, “How did you get all this technology here?”</p><p>“A lot was transported in when we first came to this place,” Michael explained. “We got lucky that our previous bases hadn’t been destroyed, otherwise we’d have none of this.”</p><p>Vince grunted in response, but continued to admire the room. It was kind of impressive, seeing all of this technology in such a secluded and isolated place. Screens lined the wall and there were many devices scattered around, presumably ways of sending out messages and so on. Aris wondered how they even got the electricity for it all but Sarah had already started to back out of the door, encouraging them all to leave.</p><p>“Sorry to rush the tour. But we were expecting you to arrive a lot sooner than you did, which is no fault of your own. Stupid time zones, throwing us all off,” she laughed. “Right, there’s just one more room and that’s exactly where we needed to end up, anyway.”</p><p>The final door was in the far corner of the Hub, and they passed a long line of shelves and two cupboards before they reached it. Aris sneaked a look at one of the computer screens as they passed by: it showed a map of the world and had a few colourful dots on it, annotated with numbers and letters that didn’t make any sense to him at all.</p><p>“Okay,” said Sarah as she stopped by the door. “This is the last room. I need to ask you not to touch anything or take anything down from the walls, but feel free to have a good look around.”</p><p>She knocked twice on the door before entering, and the first thing Aris noticed were two women sitting in the center of the room behind a small desk. They both stood up when the group entered, smiling welcomingly at the group. One of them was shorter with dark hair and dimpled cheeks, strangely recognisable even though Aris was pretty sure he'd never seen her before. But the other woman was painfully familiar, so much so that Aris couldn’t help but stare at her.</p><p>“Ava Paige,” he whispered, a cold shiver running down his spine.</p><p>Thomas’s head snapped towards him, then towards the two women, eyes darting between them then settling on Ava herself. Maybe he did remember her slightly, from dreams or flashbacks.</p><p>“Welcome,” Ava said. “It’s so great to have you here. I’m glad you got my message safely, Aris.”</p><p>He nodded stiffly, but refused to return the woman’s smile. </p><p>“Wait,” said Minho. “Ava Paige?” </p><p>“Indeed,” she replied. “It’s good to see you, Minho. And Brenda, hello dear, how’s Jorge doing?”</p><p>“He’s fine. We’re all fine,” Brenda said curtly.</p><p>“We are now,” Thomas murmured. “No thanks to you.”</p><p>Ava sighed, “Thomas, I know we have history, but it’s in the past now and I need you to leave it there where it belongs.”</p><p>“How do we know we can trust you? After what you did to me and everyone else you put in those Mazes?”</p><p>“The same reason they decided to trust you, even when you told them that you’d worked for WICKED,” Ava said, “Forgiveness.”</p><p>Thomas looked ready to burst at any moment, but managed to keep his mouth shut despite the anger that must be boiling inside of him. Even Aris couldn’t help but feel weary of Ava, even though he hadn’t been the one being lied to about going into the Maze. Himself, Rachel and Teresa had been fully aware of what was going to happen and why they needed to do it; they’d had Ava’s reassurance. But still, Ava had been there when they controlled Beth and sent that knife straight into his best friend’s chest, and that was something he would never forgive her for, no matter how much she tried to redeem herself. </p><p>“I need to introduce you to Georgina,” Saraha said when nobody else spoke for a tense second. “Georgina Woodward.”</p><p>Vince stepped forward, “Ah, so you’re the famous Georgina. I’m Vince, a leader of the Right Arm.”</p><p>The woman laughed and shook his hand, “Indeed I am, and I know of you as well. We never met, though, unfortunately. I’d lost contact with the Right Arm by the time you had the numbers to do what you’ve done. Very impressive, I must say.”</p><p>Aris’s eyes were finally drawn to the walls of this room: they covered from floor to ceiling with photographs and pieces of paper; a giant collage. It seemed to be a sort of timeline, dates starting from the side of the door and snaking around the room in a clockwise direction. The only space that was empty was a final portion of wall nearest the door, the timeline clearly incomplete, but it was dated and a few pieces of paper were pinned up.</p><p>“Do you all want to take a quick look around this room?” Sarah asked, clearly noticing where Aris was looking. “We can re-group in the meeting room once you’ve had a look.”</p><p>They nodded, and Aris immediately stepped closer to where the timeline began - the first date was familiar and Aris realised why when he took a look at the photos surrounding the date. Fires and lightning storms, cities burning, the sky aglow with light and heat and dust. The Sun Flares. He supposed that all of this had started then, the moment humanity was caught off guard and almost wiped out by the aftermath. There were different acronyms written on the wall, such as AMRIID, FIRE and PCC, along with a bit of information about each and their role after the Sun Flares. The next few dates showed statistics and messy notes, scientific terminology springing out at him. The sequence VC321xb47 was printed in large lettering and as Aris read on, he learned that this sequence was the Flare virus itself, in its intended form before it mutated.</p><p>“The virus has mutated, no longer targeting the gene that we believed thirty percent of the remaining population to contain. It now spreads rapidly and eats away at the brain, turning people into irrational, cannibalistic monsters.”</p><p>Further along the wall, another note was written underneath a picture of a smiling woman.</p><p>“Dr Katie McVoy, director of the Flare virus, PFC associate and dear friend. Infected with the virus, driven to suicide by guilt. May she rest in peace.”</p><p>The next date was written above where WICKED had been scrawled in huge lettering; names were written beneath it, a few of which Aris recognised; Ava Paige herself, Anderson, Janson, Randall. Seeing these names gave him that strange feeling of amnesia, as if there were some things he couldn’t quite remember fully about them. An itch he couldn’t quite scratch.</p><p>Surprisingly, his own name was written on the wall, arrows connecting him to Group B. Thomas and Teresa were connected to Group A, every person that had entered the two Mazes listed right there in front of him. </p><p>“These names,” he thought aloud. “How did they get them?”</p><p>Brenda shuffled in closer to him, reading the names for himself, “Maybe they can access the data. The PFC did branch into WICKED after all.”</p><p>“What’s this?” Minho asked, looking over Aris’s shoulder. “Oh, what’s my shuck name doing on their wall?”</p><p>“I guess we are technically a part of their history,” Aris said slowly. “But I’ll admit it’s a little weird.”</p><p>“You’re telling me. I knew every one of these Group A shanks for at most two years. That slinthead, George, volunteered to go down the box hole in the early days. Ended up as a half-shank, he did,” Minho explained. “I haven’t thought of some of these shanks in a long while. Guess that’s why we have the stone back home, so we don’t forget them completely.”</p><p>Aris nodded, but continued down the timeline, the names of all the girls he’d known burning his eyes. Rachel, Beth, Miyoko… his friends who deserved better than to be test subjects like rats in a lab. It was overwhelming to think that out of all the girls who’d managed to escape the Maze with him, only Sonya and Harriet remained. The Scorch and the eventual development of the Flare had seen most of them to meet their undeserved endings. Aris tried to shake away the painful memories, moving further across the wall to allow everyone else to read it.</p><p>All that was left on the timeline now was some information about the cure, and how WICKED had extracted it - it made Aris feel sick just thinking about it, and he was surprised that the PFC would even consider this as their history, despite the direction that WICKED had taken. March of this year was the final date displayed on the wall, surrounded by nothing but three words:</p><p>
  <em> The Right Arm. </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>To make things clear: Sarah is one of the PFC leaders, along with Georgina (these are my own characters) (More on Ava later)<br/>In the past, the PFC branched into WICKED to try and find a cure but there isn't much info in any of the books about whether or not the PFC completely dispersed after that. So, I thought I'd bring them back but as a 'new' PFC, if that makes sense.<br/>Also:<br/>AMRIID - Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (an underground place where the Flare virus was held)<br/>PCC - Population Control Committee (the people who released the virus)<br/>FIRE - Flares Information Recovery Endeavor ("composed of representatives of the North American Alliance, Russia, the European Union, the United States of Africa, Mexico, and other countries that suffered to extreme extents due to the sun flares. FIRE's first task was to get world leaders together and collect information, then establish governing units, organise police forces, and make food and shelter coordination plans.")</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. twenty two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter was supposed to be one from Newt's POV where he talks to his sister about the urges and spends some time with the girls over lunch. But I've decided to remove that chapter because it's not moving the story along and I feel like this is quite a crucial point in terms of plot.<br/>We find out what the PFC want from the Right Arm, and some other important stuff happens ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>ARIS:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope you all had a good look at our timeline. It’s taken us many months to find all the different pieces of information and to finally complete it,” said Sarah.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their group had regathered in the meeting room on the opposite side of the Hub, and were now sitting around the desks they’d pushed into the middle of the room. Ava, Sarah and Georgina sat at the head of the tables, representing the PFC.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was enlightening,” said one of the leaders, Rafael. “Nice to see you taking full responsibility for everything that’s happened since you released the virus.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sarah bowed her head, “We do not deny that the fault was of the PFC, and we never will, even though we have moved on considerably from there. I don’t know how history will remember our organisation, but I just hope that it’s remembered as trying to do good to benefit the people.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We still are doing good,” said Ava. “That was always the core motive of both the PFC and WICKED. As someone who worked for both, I can tell you that for sure.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris held back a grimace, not forgetting that Ava had a role in keeping WICKED alive and keeping the Trials running, murdering his friends in the process. Thomas shifted slightly beside him, clearly just as uncomfortable as Aris was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have a lot to get through,” said Sarah. “So I’ve prepared a checklist so we don’t miss anything out that’s important, but if there’s anything you want to talk about don’t be afraid to just ask.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho snorted from beside Thomas but kept his mouth closed for once, holding back any witty remarks he had because he for sure had something to say; he always did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ava, if you want to start…” Sarah said, sliding a piece of paper towards the older woman who cleared her throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, I need to start by telling you about how I managed to contact Aris and Teresa telepathically,” she started, glancing towards Aris. “I was actually inside of WICKED headquarters, because they’re the only ones able to access the technology linked to the chips, and there was no way of doing it from here. I went undercover for months, always communicating back to the PFC at the end of each day so they knew what was going on. It hadn’t been easy, watching everything unfold as it did. They repeated the Trials on some of the Immunes they had taken, including Georgina’s daughter. As soon as I knew, we started planning how to get her out of there, but it took time. They were practically torturing them, and probably still are, just so they can stimulate this enzyme that Immunes produce with active survivalist thinking and intense fear. You can probably imagine…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris didn’t want to imagine so he closed his eyes to try and shut out the barbaric images that flooded his mind completely against his will. So much for WICKED being ‘good’ - this was downright evil. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What else did you learn in WICKED?” Vince asked, his hands laced together and elbows on the table, all businesslike.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They re-elected Chancellor and I unsurprisingly wasn’t chosen, considering the direction the organisation was taking, so I didn’t get to hear about everything going on,” Ava explained. “I heard something, though, about what Janson and his lot were up to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Janson? Rat Man? He’s alive?” Thomas interrupted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, he is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas groaned, leaning back in his chair, “That little-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Aris didn’t get to hear the insult streaming from Thomas’s mouth as an itch inside his head warned him of a telepathic presence. But this was somehow different to how Teresa felt inside his head, or even how Thomas had felt. It was like the artificial connection that Ava had made, but Ava was sitting right there in front of him…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Aris can you hear me?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>came a male voice, making him jump a mile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tentatively, he reached out to the man, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“I can. Who are you?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I thought you’d at least remember my voice.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His scratchy, gruff voice was painfully familiar and it brought back the strange memories of being in the dorms after being taken by WICKED before the Scorch Trials. That voice… </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It hit him suddenly, like a tsunami of shock washing over him. They’d literally just spoken of the man himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Janson?” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Yes, Aris. Very good. Now, you’re probably wondering a million different things right now but I’ll just get straight to the point. WICKED need your help. We need you and your friends to return to us so we can finish the testing and find a cure.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“There is no cure.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Now, that’s where you may be wrong. How will we ever know if you don’t return to us?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“That’s not going to happen.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He tried to fight against the connection, trying to get the man out of his head, but Janson was just too persistent. He couldn’t shake him off, no matter how hard he tried.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Now, now, Aris. Hear me out. We believe that one of you must be the Final Candidate, producing what we need the most…”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“I’m not joining WICKED and that is that. So just GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris realised with a start that he had practically screamed those final five words out loud, and now everyone in the room was staring at him as if he’d gone slightly insane. The questioning, expectant silence was almost suffocating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aris?” asked Thomas. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He took a deep breath, excusing himself quickly from the room and sliding down the wall just outside the doorway, head in his hands. Aris was shocked more than anything at the idea that Janson thought we would willingly give up himself and his friends for them to test for a non-existent cure. How dare they think so little of him?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a minute, the realisation slammed into him that maybe they were asking Teresa the same thing, persuading her to return. With his last ounce of strength, Aris reached out to her, feeling the strain on his mind as exhaustion clouded the concentration he needed to connect.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Teresa?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> he asked. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t listen… if WICKED contact you.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was silence on the other end but he could feel the girl’s presence, as if she was considering her response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Don’t worry, I’ll tell Janson where to stick his proposition.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris let out a sigh of relief, allowing his mind to finally shut off from exhaustion. He knew that he needed to preserve what little energy he had in case of an emergency, so he was glad that he and Teresa were on the same page.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doors to the meeting eased open and Thomas came to kneel down beside Aris with a worried expression painting his face, “Is everything okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It is now. Janson got inside my head,” Aris said with a sigh, hoisting himself back up to a standing position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Janson?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. I’ll explain everything back in there. They need to know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Explaining what had happened whilst under everyone’s gaze made Aris squirm in discomfort, but he managed to get out what he needed to say, confirming over and over again that he’d declined Janson’s barbaric request. How could he ever accept such a thing?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sarah let out a huge sigh, “You still have one of WICKED’s chips in, right? Were you not able to remove any of them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Our medical equipment doesn’t branch that far,” Vince explained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris wouldn’t have wanted it removed even if they had been better equipped because the telepathy was far too valuable to lose, even if it was still connecting him to WICKED. He wasn’t sure how it worked, but as soon as Thomas’s own chip had been removed, the telepathy had gone forever with no chance of coming back. It felt like a safety blanket; useful for times like these when Aris was separated from Teresa so they could keep in contact easily. And now that there was a possibility of infiltrating WICKED, they’d need it more than ever. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We actually have somebody here who used to work for WICKED who is able to safely remove the chips, if you’d like,” said Sarah.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hang on,” Minho interrupted. “Not </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hans?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know of him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We do. He removed mine and Minho chips when we were in Denver. Mine was a fail-safe, which made it a lot harder for him to perform the surgery. Couldn’t have been one of your bright ideas, could it?” Thomas said, turning to Ava with a glimmer of hatred laden in his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The woman decided to ignore his question, “I didn’t know Hans was working for the PFC,” she said, frowning. “Is he here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Indeed he is but don’t worry, there’s a lot of people here and you only got here recently,” said Sarah.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris couldn’t read the look on Ava’s face, but she seemed really rattled by the idea of Hans being here in the PFC, not doing very well to hide her distaste.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He should come back with us,” Thomas suggested. “To remove all the chips of everyone back home who has one. Ever since Gally was controlled, I was worried that maybe WICKED might try and do something similar again.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy had a point, but if WICKED were going to control any of them by now, surely they would have done so when it was going to benefit them the most? It would have played out nicely for them if they’d controlled one of them and brought them all back to the headquarters before they could even leave for Denver. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They can’t,” said Ava. “That feature is too risky and the subject would have to be in close proximity for it to work successfully.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Like you were closeby when Gally murdered Chuck?” asked Thomas, voice dripping with loathing. If he was trying to make Ava feel guilty, he was surely doing an excellent job of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ava closed her eyes and sighed, allowing the snide comment to slide over her without retaliation; it was obvious that Thomas was slowly wearing her down with his cutting remarks, and Aris had to admit that he didn’t mind watching it happen. She deserved every ounce of their hatred.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll find Hans for you later so you can ask him if he’d return with you if you’d like,” offered Sarah.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes please,” said Vince. “What else you got on that checklist of yours?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sarah cleared her throat, “Our main proposition to the Right Arm. So your Safe Haven’s were an excellent idea, better than a lot of what WICKED had planned for the world. What you’ve done has saved so many people, especially in those Crank Safe Haven’s, and the PFC want to… build on that; to give every single person the opportunity to live in safety in a stable community. Our best hope is your Safe Havens - to create more, to increase the amount of people we have in safe environments. Because, believe it or not, there are still thousands of people out there who are surviving off of nothing and are at great risk of infection. You knew the cure would only spread so thin and now there is a limited supply, we need to prevent these vulnerable people from becoming infected.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A strange silence hung in the air at this revelation. Aris felt his throat constrict slightly as he thought about the months he’d spent in the paradise that was their Safe Haven when thousands of people were still suffering. They had to help, they had to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something </span>
  </em>
  <span>to make a difference.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So you want to extend and increase our Safe Havens. That’s basically what you’re proposing to do?” asked Vince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” said Georgina. “We can give you a moment to think about it, if you’d like to talk in private?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, yes, do that,” Vince said, gesturing haphazardly towards the door to which the three women left from without another word. “Okay people. Thoughts?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man signalled for the rest of their group to debate their initial thoughts and opinions, slouching back in his seat to allow someone else to take charge for now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris glanced at Thomas who raised his eyebrows in response, not knowing how these leaders were going to respond to this proposition. He couldn’t think of any reason why not to go along with it, and he trusted both Sarah and Georgina’s word on the state of the world. But the Right Arm leaders feel the same way?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris recognised Aiden as he stood up, clearing his throat, “I have nothing against this idea. In fact, I think it would be really good to build up bigger communities and to establish better infrastructure where we need it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I agree,” said Mary. “The only problem would be actually getting enough materials to build anything new.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s something we can bring up,” said Vince and he scribbled it down on some paper. “Good point. Anyone against this idea?” Nobody spoke, so Vince took that as a firm no, “I guess that our next point should be about WICKED. Personally, I think that we would have to be heartless monsters not to consider rescuing those Immunes, but what do we all think?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Add this to your list,” Lisa called out. “We’ll need to arrange details, like how and when we’re going to do it, and who is going in. I think we should go for it, personally.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince scribbled for a second before replying, “Done. Anyone else want to weigh in?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think I speak for most of my friends on this,” started Thomas. “Because we heard what happened to Julia inside WICKED, and we can all relate to what she’s been through. We need to do something to help them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I second that,” said Minho with a nod.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris also nodded his agreement; if there was any chance of making sure that those Immunes weren’t harmed any further, he would be right in there offering to help get them to safety. And he knew he wouldn’t be only one.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>TERESA:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa couldn’t believe that she’d lied to Aris. She was also having a hard time believing that she was doing what she was. When Janson had spoken to her telepathically, her first instinct had been to get him to leave alone; to tell him she wasn’t interested. But he had some incredible persuasion skills, she had to admit. She told him that she’d been getting holes in her memory, like some were missing. Janson had promised that he could help with that; all she had to do was agree to join with him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa had her doubts when he said that he needed her and her friends to complete the cure that they were apparently so close to now, but Janson had reminded her that she had no reason not to. And he was right; she couldn’t think of a single reason not to. Maybe she should have been afraid of that, but instead it filled her with hope. Hope that she could finally succeed in helping to find a cure, just like she’d always hoped she would. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lying to Aris meant that he wouldn’t be able to convince her otherwise, and she knew he’d try to. He just didn’t understand, none of them did. It was the reason she’d done what she had to Thomas before the Trials began - to take the necessary step required. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And if no one else was going to do it, she would have to.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh Teresa, what are you up to?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. twenty three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Another Aris chapter!<br/>Sorry there's quite a bit of talking, I just needed to move everything along.<br/>The next chapter is from Newt's POV, I promise!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>The Hub was significantly less busy in the evening than it had been earlier on. All of the people working for the PFC had begun finishing up their work schedules for the day and mingling in the dining area before dinner. </p><p>Vince had allowed them to leave the meeting room to head down to get some food and Aris was grateful for the small break from all that was going on in there. To say that things had been manic would be an understatement. He just needed a little breather.</p><p>“This place is kind of crazy,” Thomas murmured to Aris as they walked through the dining room to sit at an empty table.</p><p>They’d been allowed to go wherever they wanted in the complex, except the bedrooms of course, so long as they weren’t interrupting anything which is how Aris knew that these people had no secrets hidden away. It made him trust them a lot more than he had a few hours ago. Although, saying that, there was still one person here whom he didn’t and probably would never trust. And that person was Ava Paige.</p><p>“I know,” said Aris. “It’s quite something.”</p><p>A woman approached them after they’d taken a seat at the end of one of the benches, coming up from behind Thomas and around to the side of their table where their group of four were sitting at the end, “Thomas?” she asked cautiously.</p><p>Thomas looked up at her expectantly, “Yeah?”</p><p>“Hi, I’m Laura. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, offering a hand for Thomas to shake which he did, albeit hesitantly. “You’re kind of famous around here, as well as Aris and Minho. Everything you three have done is absolutely incredible.”</p><p>“Oh, thanks Laura,” said Thomas. “But we just did what we had to do to keep ourselves and our friends alive.”</p><p>Laura nodded, looking slightly taken aback, “Of course. Well, if you need anything while you’re here, don’t hesitate to find me and ask.”</p><p>Thomas smiled and nodded politely, and the woman eventually turned away from them. </p><p>“Well, that was weird,” said Brenda.</p><p>“Just a bit,” Thomas replied. “I kind of don’t appreciate being called famous, though. It romanticises everything we’ve been through.”</p><p>Aris couldn’t help but agree with that statement; the fact that Laura had come up to speak to them just because they were known around here was almost insulting. So many people died at the hands of WICKED and here this woman was practically congratulating them on surviving?</p><p>“Slinthead,” Minho remarked through a mouthful of food.</p><p>The rest of dinner continued without any other crazed people coming to talk to them because of their apparent ‘fame’, and Aris was grateful for that. It wasn’t until he was walking with Thomas back through the Hub, leaving Minho and Brenda to finish their meal, that they were stopped by somebody else.</p><p>“Thomas!” an older man called, appearing from behind one of the desks in the Hub to talk to them.</p><p>Aris looked to Thomas to see if the boy recognised him or if it’s just another person like Laura, but a flicker of recognition flashed across the boy’s face.</p><p>“Hans? It’s good to see you!”</p><p>“Yeah, good to see you mate. Where are the other three I met before?” the man asked. </p><p>“Minho and Brenda are finishing dinner, and Jorge is back home. But this is Aris, the two of you haven’t met,” Thomas said, and Aris shook the man’s hand. “Hans removed my chip when I was in Denver.”</p><p>“Oh!” he said. “Nice to meet you.”</p><p>So <em> this </em>was Hans. No wonder the name sounded familiar.</p><p>“And you. So, Sarah has already spoken to me and I’m okay with coming back to your Safe Haven with you to remove all the chips. In fact, I was just on my way to the meeting room,” the man said. “Walk with me?”</p><p>Thomas and Aris fell into step beside him, walking through the nearly deserted Hub and back towards the room that they’d already spent what felt like hours in. </p><p>“How did you get out of Denver?” Thomas asked, “The Cranks…”</p><p>“I know, I know. It was chaos. But they didn’t last long in the city after the PFC dropped in and rounded up anyone willing to work for them. That’s how I ended up here,” Hans explained. “Denver was practically gone anyway, what with the virus taking over the city. Shame. It wasn’t much, but it was the first place I could call home after a long time without one.”</p><p>Hans pushed open the meeting room door with a creak, and allowed the boys to disperse while he chatted with some of the Right Arm leaders. Almost everyone was already here, minus Brenda and Minho, of course.</p><p>“Can those shanks not check a watch?” Thomas muttered, just before the two ‘shanks’ waltzed into the room as if they weren’t already pushing their luck with being late.</p><p>“We aren’t late!” Brenda grumbled when she saw Thomas scowling at them. </p><p>But her face lit up when she saw Hans, immediately rushing over to the man and greeting him like an old friend. Maybe they were; Hans was an ex-WICKED doctor, and Brenda had been staff, after all. </p><p>Sarah, Ava and Georgina now stood at one end of the table, everyone else taking a seat where they had originally been sitting.</p><p>“Are we okay to start?” Vince asked, tapping his fingers along the desk impatiently.</p><p>Sarah nodded, “I believe so. Have you made a decision?”</p><p>“Indeed we have. The Right Arm has agreed to join with the PFC,” said Vince. “But we have a few questions we would like answered first.”</p><p>“I thought you might. Go ahead.”</p><p>She took a seat, both Ava and Georgina following suit, looking swamped in the sea of Right Arm leaders but always holding themselves in a way that screamed importance and leadership.</p><p>Vince cleared his throat, “How do you propose we get the materials to actually make space for all these new people who will be living in Safe Havens?”</p><p>Sarah responded with something to do with Bergs and old factories containing materials they could use, and went on to explain about seeking out villages which had been less affected by the Sun Flares to use as a new home for the people they’re going to try and rescue as part of their mission. Vince seemed convinced enough by her answer as he made a few notes before ticking that question off his list.</p><p>“So then our only other question is how we’re going to steal back the Immunes from WICKED,” said Vince.</p><p>“Of course,” Sarah said, and she unrolled a large piece of blank paper in front of her, now weilding a pencil in her hand. “So this is North America, and our headquarters is roughly here.”</p><p>She drew a small circle outside of the border, marking their location. A star was also drawn in Alaska, marking the location of the WICKED headquarters.</p><p>“Can everyone please draw a circle roughly where your Safe Haven is located?” Sarah asked, placing the pencil back down on the paper. </p><p>Each leader got up to mark their location, clearly not bothered about privacy now they knew that the PFC could apparently be trusted. After a few minutes, the makeshift map was dotted with each different location. Aris noticed that their Safe Haven just outside of Portland was the second closest to the WICKED headquarters, divided by the length of Canada.</p><p>“Perfect. So Lisa and Vince, your Safe Haven’s are closest to the headquarters, probably around the same distance from Anchorage, Alaska, actually, where the headquarters are.” Sarah explained. “Do you have people who will go in and get them out?”</p><p>“Course we do,” Vince said, gesturing towards Aris and his friends. “If these people aren’t a good enough example to you, then I don’t know what is.”</p><p>“And Lisa?”</p><p>“I’m not so sure,” the woman said. “Everyone in my Safe Haven has recovered from the Flare, and currently holds nothing against WICKED. For all they know, the organisation is just trying to find a cure and <em> did </em> find a cure. I’m not sure they would understand if I’m completely honest.”</p><p>Sarah was nodding again and biting the end of the pencil, “Okay. So what we could do is send Hans back to Vince’s Safe Haven with you to remove the chips of everyone who still has one, just to be safe in case WICKED tries anything funny. That okay, Hans?”</p><p>“Of course. It’ll be good to get a break from this place,” the man smirked.</p><p>Sarah rolled her eyes fondly, “Great. Then if you round up whoever is willing to go with you when you’re back home, you can head to Alaska and rescue the Immunes.”</p><p>“She makes it sound so easy,” Thomas murmured, and Aris couldn’t help but agree; it would never be an easy in-and-out process where WICKED was concerned.</p><p>“We can deal with that,” Vince said. “We still have some WICKED guard uniforms hidden away somewhere in the Berg, so we could whip those back out as cover. Leave the details with us, and we will make it happen.”</p><p>A bold statement, but Aris knew it was true.</p><p>“Anything else you want to ask before we shake hands and make this official?” asked Sarah.</p><p> Nobody had anything else to add, and eventually everyone came to their feet as Vince and Sarah confirmed the collaboration of the Right Arm and the PFC with the shaking of hands. It felt good to be part of something this important - a new beginning for the country and the reestablishment of the world as it once was. Aris knew, though, that he couldn’t exhale just yet; they had a rescue mission to plan and pull off.</p><p> </p><p>They were assigned some of the spare rooms for the night, having to share a room between a couple of them. Some of the Right Arm leaders had brought some mattresses in from their Bergs, and they ended up lumping them into the rooms with only slight difficulty as they worked out who would be sharing with who. Seeming as none of them minded who they shared a room with, it came down to Minho who was determined that he ‘wasn’t going to deal with Thomas’s shuck whining’ and decided to room with Brenda. </p><p>But still, Minho seemed to end up in Aris and Thomas’s room as Aris was brushing his teeth, going on about something that Thomas kept whacking him over the head for.</p><p>“Slim it, Minho,” Thomas grumbled. “Go back to your own room.”</p><p>Why was Minho even in their room in the first place? To irritate Thomas? If so, it seemed to be working.</p><p>“I’m going, alright? Night shanks,” he said as he picked up his bag and waltzing out of the door.</p><p>“Night,” Aris mumbled through a mouth full of toothpaste.</p><p>Their en-suite bathroom felt like such a luxury, considering that they always had to traipse outside to use the one at the Safe Haven. It felt so <em> quiet </em> and so <em> empty </em>without the usual buzz of people around, and Aris found himself grateful for Thomas’s presence. He might have freaked out a little if it had been him in here by himself.</p><p>“Do you want to sleep by the window?” Thomas asked when Aris emerged from the bathroom. “I don’t mind either way.”</p><p>“Neither do I,” said Aris. “But sure, as long as you don’t hog the blankets.”</p><p>“I do nothing of the sort! Who do you think I am? Minho?”</p><p>Aris laughed as he flopped down onto the mattress beside the window, feeling slightly awkward at the strangeness of having to share a room, even if it was only Thomas. He’d grown so used to having people around him when he slept that the silence already felt unnatural.</p><p>“What time did Vince want us up by?” Thomas asked as he inserted himself under the blankets, fiddling with the watch on his wrist.</p><p>“Eight at the latest. So I’d set it for seven if I were you, so we can both have a shower and actually be up on time,” Aris said, following Thomas’s lead and diving under the covers, plumping up a pillow behind him.</p><p>Thomas nodded, and fixed the alarm on his watch, then reached across to turn out the main light, the glow of the lamp beside Thomas the only remaining source in the room. </p><p><em> “Night Teresa,” </em>Aris half-whispered in his head, even though it was only around dinner time back home. Nowhere near night for them, yet.</p><p>
  <em> “Night Aris.” </em>
</p><p>“Want to say anything for Teresa to pass on?” Aris asked Thomas.</p><p>The boy sat up and looked at him for a second, eyes unblinking as he thought about the offer, then nodded his head, “Can you ask her to… to say goodnight to Newt for me?” He rushed the last few words, his voice breathy and a slightly higher pitch than usual. </p><p>Aris nodded and muttered, “Of course.”</p><p><em> “Oh, and Thomas wants you to say goodnight to Newt for him if that’s okay,” </em> he told Teresa.</p><p>
  <em> “Will do.” </em>
</p><p>He waited for a few seconds, imagining the girl talking to Newt across the table of the cafeteria while they finished dinner as a smaller group than usual.</p><p><em> “He said ‘Goodnight, Tommy’,” </em>came the response, which Aris echoed out loud to Thomas. The boy smiled slightly, a small blush creeping up his neck and reaching the tips of his ears.</p><p><em> “They’re adorable,” </em>Teresa thought inside Aris’s head.</p><p>And Aris would have responded with his agreement but his head was already foggy with sleep, eyelids drooping with the weight of the day pulling them closed.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The beeping was relentless, filling the chamber with echoes. He couldn’t find the source of the beeps, but everyone seemed just as confused as he did. Rachel looked to him for reassurance but he had none left, not after watching his friends get ripped apart by those merciless Grievers for them to get here. It was too much to comprehend.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed one of the doors swinging open towards them, and his heart quickened its pace. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The beeping suddenly stopped, and a silence as deep as outer space filled the chamber. The group waited without breathing for something to happen, bracing themselves for what came next. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Two people walked into the room, one a woman wearing black pants and a button down white shirt with WICKED spelled in blue capitals on the breast. Her brown hair was cut at the shoulder, and she had a thin face with dark eyes. Aris would know that face anywhere, even with his hazy memories - it was Chancellor Paige.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> She stopped a few meters from them, and slowly looked left to right, taking them all in. The other person, standing beside her, was a girl wearing a hood pulled over her face. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Welcome back,” the woman finally said. “Over two years, and so few dead. Amazing.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> All of the girls were too shocked to speak, mouths agape and staring at the woman. She glanced over at her companion, then reached out and pulled the hood off of the girl. Every person sucked in a breath of surprise. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It was Beth. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “What’s she doing here?” Harriet shouted. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “You’re safe now,” Chancellor Paige responded, as if she hadn’t heard her at all. “Please, be at ease.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Beth,” Sonya said. “What’s going on?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The dark haired girl looked at her; eyes flared for a moment, her head shaking slightly. But she didn’t respond. Aris knew immediately that something was wrong - this shouldn’t be happening. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “There is, of course, one final Variable,” Paige said, taking a small step back. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Aris focused on Beth, her whole body trembling and her face a pasty white, eyes rimmed red and watery. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Beth?” Rachel asked from beside him. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Words burst from Beth’s mouth. “They… can control me… I don’t-” Her eyes bulged and a hand went to her throat as if she were choking, “I… have… to…” Each word was a croaking cough, then she stilled, her body relaxing. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Before anyone could react, Beth had reached behind herself, pulling something long and shiny from her back pocket. The lights of the chamber flashed off the silvery surface - a wicked looking dagger, gripped tightly in her fingers. With unexpected speed, she reared back and threw the knife to Aris’s left. It was as if the world had turned to slow motion - he felt the absolute terror of seeing the thing flipping over and over, straight towards Rachel’s chest. A strangled cry formed in his throat, and he tried to force himself to move but couldn’t. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> With a sickening, wet thunk, the dagger slammed into Rachel’s chest, burying itself to the hilt. She screamed, convulsing on the floor as blood poured from the wound, a dark crimson. Aris fell to the ground, pulling Rachel’s shaking body into his arms. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Rachel!” he screamed. “Rachel!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her eyes had rolled up into their sockets, dull white orbs as she stopped convulsing and finally stilled, eyes now focusing on Aris, clinging to life. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Ar...ris.” she murmured, the word barely there. One last breath wheezed from her mouth as her eyes closed.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Her body went limp. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> And the memory was shattered. </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry Rachel. You deserved better. :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. twenty four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Newt couldn’t sleep. The bunk to his left was eerily empty and the silence emanating from it was strangely off-putting. It was the first night in months that he hadn’t had his two best friends directly across from him as he slept, and he hadn’t realised how much he relied on their presence until now. In all honesty, Newt hadn’t had high hopes for his anxiety over the two days his friends were away, but he was surprised to realise that he hadn’t felt any of the urges to check on them that evening. </p><p>Though, he could feel the anxiety creeping up on him the longer he lay here awake. The night had never been his friend; it gives him no chances to see what’s coming before it’s right in front of him. And right now was no exception.</p><p>He had to admit, however, that lying awake overthinking was possibly going to be the thing that tipped him over the edge and he didn’t want to let that happen. He was terrified of letting that happen. Because he doesn't want to fall again. Because he knows what happens when you let yourself fall.</p><p>Newt shifted in bed, unable to get comfortable beside the unrelenting nagging inside his head, before he finally gave up and walked the short distance towards Thomas’s bed which he curled up in, breathing in and closing his eyes. He was immediately engulfed by the familiar subtle scent of lemons which was almost enough to relieve some of the anxiety. Almost.</p><p>He wasn’t sure how long he lay here for, or if he’d even drifted off at all, but when he next opened his eyes the room was still dark and the thoughts came crashing back into his mind so suddenly he flinched. With a sigh, Newt got up to put on his coat and head outside. He was in desperate need of some air.</p><p>The embers from the campfire were the only source of light, the moon shielded by the blackened shadows of clouds, leaving a starless sky. It began drizzling slightly as Newt walked down to the beach, raising his hood against the harsh humidity that hung in the air. The breeze had a dampness to it, coating Newt’s face within minutes and leaving droplets hanging forlornly from his eyelashes. The gentle rhythm of the ocean was soothing and Newt allowed his breathing to fall in time to the murmur of the waves crashing over the sand. It was as if the water was a symphony of a song kept secret; a whisper of something left unspoken. </p><p>Newt sat down on a rock somewhere along the shoreline, not caring that his clothes would surely get soaked through by the time he went back inside, and he looked out into the blackness which blanketed the horizon. He could hardly see a few meters in front of his face, let alone all the way out into the abyss. But this was what he loved about the beach in the depths of night; it was nonchalant and it was unassuming and it felt like everything inconsequential actually mattered. Nothing was prohibited and everything was significant.</p><p>Newt couldn’t help it when memories of stolen mornings with Thomas flooded his head, like a few days ago when they’d come out here stargazing in the early morning, and the time that they’d talked about <em> them </em> for the first time.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “So, er… I wanted to talk to you about something,” Thomas said with a touch of tentativeness coating his voice. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Newt nodded and glanced at the boy sitting beside him, “What is it?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> By this point, it had been around a month since their arrival in the Safe Haven and they were finally beginning to settle into the idea of the safety they’d been promised and now seemed to have at their fingertips. It all still felt like one incredible, long dream. The two boys had grown closer and closer over the past few weeks, with Thomas fussing over Newt’s injury which was healing nicely, and Newt fussing over the fact that he was fussing.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There was certainly something between them which Newt had to admit he would never have with anyone else, but he wasn’t sure if the feeling was mutual just yet. They had come to speak often through actions rather than words, through glances and soft touches, lingering embraces and knowing smiles. He loved how Thomas would always take his hand when they ventured out into the morning alone together, and how he didn’t let go unless he absolutely had to. He liked what they had between them. And it was enough, for now. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I want to make sure we’re on the same page here,” said Thomas. “That whatever we are right now is what you want us to be.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “I don’t know what we are, Tommy,” Newt admitted. “But if I’m honest, I don’t think I’m really ready to put a label on it. I’m scared it might… break us if you know what I mean. I don’t think I could cope if something went wrong because we dove into this too quickly.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thomas nodded, “So you want to wait? That’s fine with me.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Yeah, that’s what I want. But I also want whatever it is we have now, just without the pressure and the... expectation.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Thomas hummed in agreement, pulling Newt into a tight embrace and resting his chin on his shoulder. “We can try that,” he whispered. “We have all the time in the world, now.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>That had been right here, by the rock Newt was still perched on. He wiped a stray tear from his cheek at the memory and the sheer fulfilment he had felt in that moment at finally admitting that there was the possibility of a future together. It certainly filled the Thomas-shaped hole slightly.</p><p>“Newt?” a whispered voice came from behind him, making him jump and almost let out a small yelp of surprise. “Is that you?” </p><p>“Yeah, it’s me. Is that… Julia?” he asked.</p><p>“Yep,” she said as her figure emerged from the blackness, coming to sit beside Newt on the rock, arms wrapped protectively around herself with her oversized coat zipped up to her chin against the rain. </p><p>The pair sat in solemn silence for a few minutes as they considered the darkness of the night and the strangeness of them somehow meeting in it. Newt wondered just fleetingly what the chances were of Julia stumbling across him sitting here in almost pitch darkness, both of them seeming to forget that such a thing as torches existed for moments like these.</p><p>“Why are you awake?” Julia asked eventually as she tucked a loose wisp of hair back inside her hood.</p><p>“I just couldn’t sleep,” said Newt. What about you?”</p><p>Julia paused for a moment before replying, “I had a dream. A memory. It was about… my mum, I think.”</p><p>“Oh? Do you want to talk about it? About her?” </p><p>“I remembered her face, and her voice, and her trying to stop me from being taken away. I remembered her name,” Julia paused for a moment. “Her name is Georgina.”</p><p>It took a moment for Newt’s haze-filled brain to make the connection, but when he did he allowed his mouth to fall open and for his head to turn to look at Julia even though he wouldn’t be able to see the girl any better through the shield of blackness, “Georgina?” he asked. “Like…”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Julia whispered. “I don’t know if it’s her.”</p><p>Georgina Woodward. It was totally possible that Julia actually was the daughter that Georgina was rumoured to have lost a few months back, but those were just rumours that had spread throughout the Safe Haven. But the chances of it being true? All they could do was ask the mysterious woman herself, and it just so happens that their friends are with her until tomorrow.</p><p>“We could ask Teresa to ask Aris to ask Georgina at the PFC if it’s true,” Newt suggested. “But only if you want to know the truth.”</p><p>“Yeah, maybe.”</p><p>It was pretty clear that she needed a moment to herself by the way she placed her head in her hands, so Newt didn’t push the matter. Even if Julia had just discovered that her mother was none other than the mysterious Georgina Woodward herself, there was nothing they could do right now. Not while it felt like the whole world was in a deep, deep slumber. So they sat in silence for a while, no words necessary between them, each other's presence enough to feel comforting against their midnight sorrows. It was the first time that Newt had been alone with Julia, but it didn’t feel awkward. Maybe the shared trauma of WICKED really was a good way to bond.</p><p>“Do you miss him?” Julia asked eventually. “Thomas, I mean.”</p><p>“Er… yeah, I do,” Newt admitted after a moment’s pause.</p><p>He saw the outline of Julia’s head tilt up and down as she nodded, “I know I haven’t known you long, and maybe that’s why I notice it so much more than the others seem to but Newt, the way he looks at you… like you’re <em> everything </em> and more. Like you’re the one who hung all the stars in the sky.”</p><p>She trailed off, Newt grasping tightly to the words he’d never allowed anyone to speak aloud before or even consider to be true. But maybe he needed to hear it from someone else. Maybe he needed this just a little.</p><p>“And I’m sorry if I’m overstepping,” said Julia. “But I can tell that he feels the same way about you that you do of him. I know you haven’t told your friends and obviously that’s okay, but make sure he knows, Newt. Have you told him how you feel?”</p><p>“Not enough,” he whispered. “Not nearly enough.”</p><p>But he sure as hell wouldn’t hold back now he knew how painful just one day without Thomas could be, filled with anxiety and fear for the boy he’d do anything for if it only meant his happiness. And maybe it was just the wake up call he needed; the push to do and say exactly what his heart was screaming for.</p><p>Tomorrow couldn’t come quick enough.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Some Newt and Julia content I didn't know I needed until I wrote it :)<br/>Also... what about Julia being Georgina's daughter, huh?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. twenty five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>An assembly was called that morning to inform all the PFC associates of the collaboration between the Right Arm and the PFC, every person filing into the dining room and taking a seat at the tables which had been repositioned so they were all running parallel, forming four long, straight rows. </p><p>Sarah, Georgina and Ava were standing at the end of the huge room, just in front of the open kitchen, waiting for everyone to come in and settle down. Minho huffed as he plonked down beside Aris and opposite Brenda, but Thomas jabbed him in the head with his thumb, “What’s up with you?” </p><p>“I haven’t had a run in two whole days now,” Minho explained with another sigh. “I’m restless, okay?”</p><p>“Why don’t you go ask Ava if you can have a jog around the complex? I’m sure she’ll say yes,” said Thomas.</p><p>The mention of Ava snapped Aris to attention, as if his brain was working at a hundred miles per hour to work out what it was that he was forgetting which had something to do with Ava Paige. But all he was able to grasp at was the familiar feeling of amnesia that now seemed to haunt his every move. What was he forgetting and what did it have to do with Ava?</p><p>“Hello everyone!” Sarah started, jolting him from his thoughts. “We have an announcement to make this morning, involving our guests.” She gestured to Aris’s group, and the leaders on one of the other benches, “And we are pleased to announce the collaboration between the PFC and the Right Arm!”</p><p>Clapping and cheers erupted from all of the PFC associates, the noise a detonating bomb of delight, some people even getting to their feet. Sarah waited for the room to fall quiet, but she was waiting a while due to the stampede of people welcoming the leaders to the organisation, and some shaking hands with Aris’s small group.</p><p>“Thank you!” she called, reining everyone in. “Thank you!”</p><p>Georgina stepped forward, hands laced in front of her, “Now, there is a group being led by Vince…” she gestured towards the man. “... to retrieve the Immunes from WICKED headquarters in Alaska and bring them to safety. The collaboration will involve extending the Safe Haven’s, and bringing as many people as possible into them so civilisation can slowly be rebuilt.”</p><p>Another round of clapping went by, Georgina pausing to allow it to die back down, “We’ve agreed for them to leave as soon as possible, so they can fly back home and prepare for the infiltration of WICKED. We wish you all the best!” </p><p>Vince was soon surrounded by a mob of people wishing him well, but he broke through the crowds to come and speak to Aris’s group. </p><p>“Go get your things,” he said. “I’ll meet you on the Berg in however long it takes for me to finish here.”</p><p>“You got it,” said Brenda with a nod of her head.</p><p>The four of them didn’t need telling twice, dashing from the dining area before anyone could stop them for a chat that would most likely last for far too long. The fact that these people disliked WICKED just as much as he did was comforting considering that it was the original PFC that had branched off into that terrible organisation. But they didn’t have the awful memories…</p><p>…</p><p>… but wait …</p><p>...</p><p><em> Neither did he, </em> Aris realised with a start when he tried to reach for anything which told him that WICKED were as awful as he knew they were deep down; how all these people knew they were. But he was hit by the amnesia time and time again. He <em> knew </em> that he knew, or at least had done in the past.</p><p>So what was stopping him from remembering? Why was he forgetting?</p><p>He considered reaching out to Teresa to see if she, too, was experiencing this amnesia like they both had in the past, but this felt different somehow. He knew where he was; who he was. Everything but what he was now desperate to remember. It was torturous. </p><p>“Uh, Thomas?” Aris asked when the boys were alone in their room. “Can I ask you something?”</p><p>“Mhm go ahead,” said Thomas as he wriggled a jumper over his head.</p><p>Aris swallowed hard, “I’m getting this… amnesia. Like, I can’t remember certain things that I know are important and I should remember but <em> can’t. </em> I was thinking about WICKED and what they’ve done to us, but I… I can’t get anything; I can’t <em> remember anything.” </em></p><p>Thomas had frozen on the spot, staring at Aris with his eyes wide with either shock or fear, or maybe a bit of both.</p><p>“So can you, like… tell me something?” asked Aris, “To see if I remember?”</p><p>There was a pause and then Thomas answered, “Rachel’s death.”</p><p>It was like he’d been slapped across the face, as the realisation slowly sunk in. He knew that his best friend was dead. </p><p>But what exactly had happened to her? </p><p>He tried to reach through the dark abyss that had implanted itself in his head, but he could find nothing. Nothing at all. And he slowly felt his heart break once more because <em> this couldn’t be happening. </em> He couldn’t forget his best friend.</p><p>“I- don’t remember,” he stuttered. “I don’t remember how she died.”</p><p>“She was murdered. They controlled Beth, and… she killed her with a knife. Just like they killed Chuck.”</p><p>Somehow, Aris could remember that Chuck had died in this way, but his own best friend? Nothing. Not a single spark of memory ignited inside his head, even after being told the painful truth. </p><p>“When did you notice that you couldn’t remember?” asked Thomas.</p><p>“Well, the amnesia only happened three times where I forgot absolutely everything for a few seconds. Then, the dreams started where I wake up and can’t remember a single thing about it but I knew that something happened,” he explained. “I always wake up feeling what I felt in the dream.”</p><p>Thomas nodded but didn’t say another word for a while. Whatever was going on couldn’t be good, and he was grateful that the boy hadn’t started playing guessing games; putting ideas in his head. He didn’t need to be speculated about right now.</p><p>“Ready?” Aris asked after a few minutes, holding open their bedroom door.</p><p>“Yeah, let’s go.”</p><p>Thomas slipped past Aris, out into the warmly lit hallway. It felt more like a hotel than lodgings, but it was apparently enough for everyone who lived here. One side of the computer desks out in the Hub was blocked with people chatting and mingling after coming out of the assembly hall, so the boys had to walk around the other side of the long table to get to the exit.</p><p><em> “Aris, are you there?” </em>came Teresa’s voice in his head.</p><p>
  <em> “Here. What’s up?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “It’s about Julia. She had a memory of her mum and thinks she might be Georgina. As in… Georgina Woodward?” </em>
</p><p><em> “The one that’s walking directly towards me right now?” </em> Aris asked as he watched the woman approaching him. <em> “I can ask her if you like.” </em></p><p>“Hey boys,” said Georgina. “Ready for the flight?”</p><p>Aris wasted no time in asking her the question, not wanting to miss his opportunity in case she ran off somewhere, “Your daughter. What’s her name?”</p><p>Georgina seemed taken aback by the question but smiled, “Julia. Her name’s Julia. I was actually going to ask you… I noticed that your Safe Haven was the one she was dropped off near. How is she doing?”</p><p>Aris had thought Georgina looked surprised by his outburst but his own shock must have doubled, if not tripled, the woman’s. So Julia was Gerogina’s daughter who had been rescued from WICKED for ‘personal reasons’. Had those personal reasons been her mother's involvement in the PFC?</p><p>“She’s fine,” Thomas answered when Aris didn’t. “She’s well.”</p><p>Georgina nodded with evident relief, “Good. I wanted to say that her chip should be removed without trouble, it isn’t a fail-safe or anything, but it’s been disabled so might not be worth removing if you’re short on supplies. Ava made sure that she couldn’t be traced back to your Safe Haven. Bless that woman, she’s done so much for my daughter and I. I couldn’t bear the thought of her spending another minute in that awful place. Please, send her my love. Tell her that I miss her, but she’s in the best place right now. Maybe one day we'll be reunited.”</p><p>With a final smile, Georgina patted the boys on the shoulder and left them standing there speechless, mouths agape in shock.</p><p>Thomas was the first to break the silence, “Well. That was… did Teresa...?”</p><p>“Yeah she asked me… I should tell her what Georgina said.”</p><p>He felt rather than heard the squeal in response to his answer to her original question, the noise piercing through his skull so sharply that he flinched. Teresa had never been considerate with her telepathy.</p><p>“Hold up,” said Thomas as they passed the control room. “Is that Ava?”</p><p>Aris peered through the small window that Thomas was looking in, and could see that it was, in fact, Ava Paige. The woman was sat by some controls, talking into a microphone with headphones on.  </p><p>Before Aris could stop him, Thomas was pressing on the door allowing a small crack to open up so they could hear what she was saying. Thomas brought a finger to his lips and pressed his head close to the gap, beckoning Aris to do the same.</p><p>“- to fly back. Around six hours or so, plus another four. And<em> no </em>, not all at once, were you even listening?” Ava paused, listening to someone in the headphones and shaking her head. “No, the girl will-”</p><p>Someone tapped Aris on the shoulder, and he spun around quickly to see Brenda standing behind him, frowning, her arms crossed in front of her chest.</p><p>“What are you doing?” she whispered.</p><p>Thomas closed the door and dragged them both away from the window by their sleeves, “Brenda! You could have got us caught!”</p><p>“I’ll repeat my question. What are you doing?” </p><p>Thomas sighed and looked at the floor, “Listening to Ava Paige. She was talking to someone, I still don’t trust her-”</p><p>Brenda cut him off with the shake of her head, “Thomas! Seriously? After we’ve literally joined forces with the PFC, you still have doubts?”</p><p>“Not about the PFC, about Ava Paige. I think she was talking to somebody about our flight home.”</p><p>“She could have been documenting it or something, I don’t know!” Brenda said, clearly exasperated. “Have a little faith, yeah? Come on, let’s get to the Berg and go home.”</p><p>Thomas allowed himself to be dragged away, Aris shooting him a sympathetic smile when he looked back at him over his shoulder. Brenda was probably right; they needed to stop thinking that everyone was going to backstab them and trust that they had a plan and a steady group of people to lead them. This was different to everything else they’d done on so many levels.</p><p>“Ready for six hours home?” Vince asked when everyone had finally gathered on the Berg. Aris’s watch told him that it was already eleven a.m. but they had spent the whole morning bombarded with people and questions and arrangements and no time to <em> breathe. </em></p><p>“We don’t have much choice,” Minho said sarcastically. </p><p>Vince decided to ignore the boy’s clever remark and disappear into the control room with Nella with a fond roll of his eyes. </p><p>“At least we have time to talk about your amnesia,” said Thomas, sitting opposite Aris with his legs crossed beneath him. “If you want to.”</p><p>“I do want to. I just don’t know how.”</p><p>“What’s this about amnesia?” Minho asked, and Aris told him the truth.</p><p>He and Brenda reacted in a similar way to which Thomas had; simply nodding along with what they were being told, as if this was a completely normal conversation they were having. Aris was so grateful that they weren’t making a big deal out of it. </p><p>“I’ll just throw every scenario that makes WICKED look bad at you,” Thomas suggested. “Starting with… them lying to me about having my memories when I entered the Maze.”</p><p>“I remember you telling me that, but I wasn’t actually there when it happened so it’s not really something I can forget…”</p><p>“Okay, well… surely just that fact that they put kids into a Maze and watched them suffer for two years is bad enough?” said Thomas.</p><p>Aris nodded, but all he could see was the idea that it was for a good reason, to find a cure and create the blueprint; he remembered actually being in the Maze itself, but the feelings…</p><p>“I don’t remember… how it felt. Like what I felt and what it meant to me when I was in there and watching my friends die when we went through the Maze altogether…” he trailed off and closed his eyes, desperately trying to remember what he’d felt. But it was like trying to knock down a stone wall with his fist - whatever was preventing him from remembering was unrelenting.</p><p>“Fear,” said Thomas. “Anxiety. Constant unease.”</p><p>“Distress. Pain. Grief,” Minho continued.</p><p>Aris opened his eyes and looked up at his friends; they were remembering these terrible, terrible emotions for him; digging up memories they must have buried deep down. If they could do it, so could he.</p><p>Aris imagined the single word, ‘Distress’, and considered every memory he had that he could connect to that word. When the Grievers started taking people, one by one. When they were walking down that black corridor, people’s heads turning to metal. </p><p>He moved on to the next word, ‘Fear’, a very wide term. What could he fix onto that one word? When the doors didn’t close. Jumping down the Griever hole. The lightning storm. Memories flooded through him and he attached these emotions to them, bringing new life to each memory...</p><p>… Everything tracing back to WICKED.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Aris? Aris wake up!” </em>
</p><p>He jerked awake from his nap, confused about where the voice came from.</p><p><em> “ARIS!” </em>It was Teresa, now screaming inside his head.</p><p>
  <em> “What? What is it?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “They’re here. They’re taking us away, every Immune from the trials. I’m so sorry, Aris, I’m sorry!”  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “What are you talking about?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “It’s WICKED! We’re-” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Teresa?” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “-” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “TERESA!” </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>TERESA:</p><p>She couldn’t do it. Teresa couldn’t bring herself to tell WICKED the truth. Which was why she told them that her friends were to return from the PFC a few hours earlier than they actually were. If only half of them ended up going, at least the other half would be safe. Aris would be safe. There was no doubt that she would pay for this; the threats from WICKED had already started and she was already doubting them and herself. Why did she agree to this? What has she got them all into?</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So that's a thing. Bring on the drama, I suppose.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. twenty six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Previously...</p>
<p>“Aris? Aris wake up!”<br/>He jerked awake from his nap, confused about where the voice came from.<br/>“ARIS!” It was Teresa, now screaming inside his head.<br/>“What? What is it?”<br/>“They’re here. They’re taking us away, every Immune from the trials. I’m so sorry, Aris, I’m sorry!” <br/>“What are you talking about?”<br/>“It’s WICKED! We’re-”<br/>“Teresa?”<br/>“-”<br/>“TERESA!”</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Newt had been peacefully working out on the fields when he heard the rumble of a Berg in the distance begin to draw nearer and nearer, eventually coming into view from the North. A single glance at his watch reminded him that this couldn’t be their friends returning from the PFC; it was two hours too early, and this Berg didn’t seem to be descending down into the landing port like they usually would which could only mean one thing: these people, whoever they are, were outsiders. And with outsiders came the risk of Cranks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonya seemed to find her way over to Newt, standing by his side as they watched the huge ship descend outside the boundary with the guards coming to surround it, Launchers raised and ready to fire. Never in his entire time in the Safe Haven had Newt felt so unsafe.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His first instinct was to start moving away from the openness of the fields, tugging his sister along behind him and calling for the others to find somewhere to shelter just in case these people didn’t come in peace. He still had hope at this point; hope that their guards would fend off these outsiders, and hope that their lives weren’t as at risk as he feared they were. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the thing about hope is that it is unstable. It can be flipped off at the found sound of a Launcher being fired and the thunderous yell for everyone to run; for everyone to find a place to hide. Because that could only mean one thing: they were under attack. And what good was hope when nothing could come of it?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So Newt ran. He ran with Sonya hot on his heels as they aimed for the nearest building to find some sort of safety in: the classrooms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But when they could see the familiar black and red uniforms tearing through the boundary with Launchers raised, they only ran faster. Because those uniforms were too familiar. Because those people should never have found them here. Because it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>WICKED.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They ran as fast as their legs would allow, Newt hardly noticing the strain on his leg, the doors to the classrooms drawing ever closer with just a few meters to go now…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>… ten …</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>… five…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>… three ...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something knocked into Newt’s chest just as he was about to push through the door, knocking the air from the lungs and sending him flying towards the ground which was quick to level itself with his head. Sonya went sprawling the other way, another guard grabbing at her with just as much ferocity as this one was using on Newt. Before he could comprehend the motion, he was being pushed up against the wall with his head twisted at an uncomfortable angle as the guard traced a device over the back of his neck. Over his chip. The chip Molly had been unable to remove. The chip that connected him to WICKED.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The device beeped and the guard let out a sharp huff of laughter, sour breath forced into Newt’s face. “Not Immune, huh? What were WICKED thinking?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a prick in the side of Newt’s neck and the guard kept his hold on him before the world began to turn fuzzy, Sonya’s screams the only thing penetrating his skull as everything turned black.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He awoke with a foggy head and anxiety laden in his gut, slowly rolling onto his side with a groan. It took him a while to come around due to the haze coating his senses, but he soon came to realise that he was lying on a bed in the hospital with a couple of people around him, including Molly who was walking around checking on them. At first, Newt allowed the familiarity of the hospital and the comfort of this bed to consume his thoughts and to bat away anything else that tried to infiltrate. But that state of stupor didn’t last long.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he finally came to his senses, reality hit him so hard he could have faded back into unconsciousness from the intense impact of everything as it came flooding back. He gasped and tried to sit upright in bed but his head felt so heavy from whatever that guard had injected him with, and he felt too weak to fight it off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly was by his side in a matter of seconds. “Good, you’re awake,” she said. “I need you to try and take this medicine for me-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s Sonya?” Newt interrupted, trying and failing once more to sit upright. “Where is she? Is she okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him from trying to sit up with something that looked a lot like distress written all over her face. “I’m really sorry,” she said. “There was nothing anyone could do to stop them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean? Where’s my sister?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“They took her. WICKED took her with Teresa, Gally, Frypan and Harriet,” said Molly. “The Immunes from your Trials.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No. No, no, no, no, no. This couldn’t be happening. They couldn’t be gone. They couldn’t…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Molly whispered. “They injected you with something to stop you from fighting back, and they shot the guards with the Launchers. No one’s dead.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt didn’t reply, draping his arm across his forehead as the panic rose further and further towards the surface, his whole body trembling slightly as tears pricked at the back of his eyes. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. WICKED weren’t supposed to come here. They weren’t supposed to take his friends; his sister. What were they supposed to do now?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I need you to take some medicine, it’ll make your head feel a little better,” Molly said as she placed two pills on the table beside his bed along with a glass of water. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt shook his head, “I don’t want it, give it to someone else.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence in which Molly didn’t reply, obviously considering her response and building up to a lecture about getting better quicker with the medicine, but Newt didn’t care. He didn’t care about feeling better when his friends were the ones in WICKED’s captivity. But that reminded him…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long until the others get back?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“About an hour. I’m hoping Teresa managed to tell Aris what was happening so it’s not such a shock when they get back,” Molly said before turning her back and leaving him alone with the pills and water beside his bed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was too angry to cry but he was too weak to be angry. And so Newt felt himself </span>
  <span>slip back under the influence of the drug in his bloodstream, sleep drawing him back in like a black sheet over his head, blanketing him from this mess. But he couldn’t help but wonder: when did everything go so wrong?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>When he next woke up, he was lying on his side and there was a weight on his back that seemed to be engulfing him in heat. A thumb was tracing comforting circles into the skin on his shoulder which sent sparks ricocheting along his nerves and through his entire body. He found himself curling further into the warmth, not fully conscious just yet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey Newt,” a voice mumbled into the crook of his neck, so soft and so lovingly familiar that he could have cried from utter relief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He rolled over to face Thomas, taking a second to just stare and take in his sunken expression and tired eyes before wrapping him in a hug that spoke a thousand words. They were a tangle of limbs as they both clung on so tightly, warmth pooling between them as they embraced, as if terrified that the other might disappear if they didn’t hold on tight enough. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Thomas whispered. “When I heard what happened, I thought for a moment that it meant you would be gone, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m okay,” Newt murmured, though he knew that in reality he was so far from okay. His head was pounding and he regretted not taking his medicine earlier, but that was nothing compared to what had happened to his friends. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened here?” asked Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt didn’t reply immediately, allowing the question to simmer for a moment. “A Berg came,” he explained. “They were wearing the WICKED uniforms and they had Launchers. Someone yelled at us to hide, so me and Sonya ran towards the classrooms, but… but we got caught. He scanned my chip and then knocked me out. They took her. I just wish I could have done something to try and protect her, to get her inside or…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt, they were armed,” said Thomas, gently brushing his fingers through blond strands of hair. “They might have shot and killed you if you’d fought back. You can beat yourself about this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But she’s my sister, it’s my job to </span>
  <em>
    <span>protect </span>
  </em>
  <span>her-” his voice broke as he unsuccessfully swallowed back a sob, body starting to tremble once more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, it’s okay. We’ll get her back, I promise,” Thomas held him ever tighter against his chest, allowing him to cry against his shoulder and show the world just how much it was breaking him. “Let it all out. At least you’re safe, yeah? She’s going to be okay; they all are. Just breathe, Newt, just breathe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The world became blurred through a sheet of uncontrollable tears, and he couldn’t recall the exact moment that Thomas led him out into the sunlight and fresh air, away from the stuffy hospital. Molly’s words were muffled as she gave him her blessing to leave, his grasp on Thomas’s arm never yielding as they walked across the grass and around to the back of the hospital, facing the trees by the boundary. Everything hurt. Everything ached as if fire had spread across his muscles and right through his heart, tearing him to pieces. Maybe this was what it took to reach breaking point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Newt murmured against Thomas’s shoulder as they sat side by side with their backs against the hospital wall. “I just can’t believe they’re gone.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know,” said Thomas. “But we’re going to get them back as soon as everything is settled and we’re ready to go. Everything is going to be okay, I promise.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s a big promise to make, Tommy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe. But it’s one I’m willing to make happen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And just when Newt had thought the door to hope had been sealed firmly shut, Thomas opens it and allows him a glimmer of hopefulness through the darkness. A glimmer of hope to guide them through before everything exploded. Because it would.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The calm is over and it’s time for the storm to begin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. twenty seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Vince called a Gathering within an hour of their return. Ever since he’d heard Teresa’s telepathic warning, Aris had just felt numb. And now, that numbness was turning into anger - anger at WICKED for taking his friends, anger at the world for doing this to them, and anger at himself for not being able to do anything about it. He’d barely spoken since they’d returned, the lingering feeling of loss looming over him like a dark shadow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was just so confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Why did WICKED need to take his best friends away from him? To find a non-existent cure? How did they even find them here?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So many questions with so few answers…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was suffocating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay,” said Vince. “Let’s begin. So I know you’re probably all wondering what’s going on, and you’re definitely not alone in that. Truth is, I can’t give you an answer, but I can give you some solutions. We’re going to get back the Immunes who were taken by WICKED, by whatever means necessary. And while we’re there, we’ll rescue the other Immunes who were put through the second Trials.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The usual spark that Vince usually emitted during the Gatherings seemed to have disappeared, replaced by a helplessness which came with not knowing what to do yet still having to do something. Aris felt the same, and his heart went out to the man who still had to lead this group of people and reassure them that everything was going to be okay, even if he wasn’t so sure of it himself. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Right Arm have officially joined with the PFC, but I think details on that should come after we’ve sorted out this mess and got back our friends, do we agree?” asked Vince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There came a few feeble mumbles of agreement, everyone clearly still thrown by the infiltration by WICKED. He wasn’t sure how many people had been injured, but maybe the injuries went deeper than on the surface. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, so… I’m not going to ask anyone to do anything drastic right now. What I am asking is for at least a couple of volunteers to go into WICKED, no strings attached if you change your mind before we leave. We’ll have a little meeting to discuss strategy, but there are no promises,” Vince said with a sigh. “Huge thank you to Molly, by the way, for acting so quickly to get everyone into the hospital who needed it. And of course the rest of you for being so understanding in these unprecedented times. I wish there was more I could say to you all, but…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But there was nothing he could possibly say now to fix what had happened. Their safety had been compromised, and that wasn’t okay. What use is a Safe Haven if it isn’t a haven of safety?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris turned to the people who were around him; Julia, Minho and Brenda, noticing their clouded eyes and troubled expressions. This had hit them all so hard, but Aris had no doubt that these three would be volunteering to infiltrate WICKED just like he would be. And, of course, Thomas who had practically detonated with the news of the attack on the Safe Haven. They hadn’t been sure whether or not Newt had been taken, considering he isn’t Immune, so the last two hours on that Berg had been absolute hell for all of them; Thomas had been pacing the length of the Berg, forcing them all further and further over the edge of anxiety.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Anyone willing to go to WICKED, please come over to me so we can have a little chat,” said Vince, gesturing somewhere behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Almost immediately, the four of them had scrambled to their feet and were heading over to where Hans was now talking to Vince, his presence futile now that most of them who had a chip had been taken. It was only himself, Julia and Newt who had one now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Where’s Thomas?” Minho groaned. “He won’t want to miss this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As if on cue, Thomas snuck up behind them all with Newt just behind him, “I’m here, you shank, don’t worry about me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Jesus shuckin’ hell, Thomas,” Minho shouted before noticing Newt just behind him and shoving Thomas out the way to pull his friend into a tight hug. “Newt, man. I’m so glad you’re okay. Are you even allowed out yet?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt wriggled his way out of Minho’s tight grasp, “Yes I am. I’m fine now, it was just a bloody sedative they injected into me, so nothing too harmful.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all failed to mention the fact that Thomas had been up at the hospital for almost an hour before now, just waiting for Newt to wake up. When they’d all rushed to see if he was okay following their return, it had been Thomas who peppered Molly with questions about Newt’s health and demanded to know when he’d be okay again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You coming on the rescue mission?” asked Brenda.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris didn’t miss the way Thomas looked to Newt, biting at his lip almost nervously, “Urm…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Newt replied for them both. “We are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Eventually, the six of them were joined by the three Right Arm leaders who hadn’t taken the opportunity to return to their own Safe Haven’s just yet; Mary, Rafael and Nella. All of the other leaders apparently had responsibilities back home and couldn’t find the time or didn’t want to risk being involved in this rescue mission. Aris didn’t blame them. They couldn’t ensure a single person's safety.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Come, come. Sit,” said Vince, lowering himself down onto the grass so they could form a little circle. “Thank you all for offering to do this. I know you guys are close to the five that were taken but we will get them back. We’ll get them all back. And we’ll get out the other Immunes as well: Julia’s friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man nodded at Julia who smiled slightly at the mention of finally getting her friends out of the depths of hell. God knows she deserved to get them out of there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was just talking to Hans; he’s going to stick around here so he can remove their chips when we bring them home. Aris, Julia and Newt, you three still have the chips in and I think it might be a good idea to remove them before we leave,” said Vince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not mine,” Aris said quickly. “The telepathy… I can’t lose it. Teresa might wake up and be able to tell us where they are in the building. It’s too valuable to lose.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince sighed as he ran a hand across his face, “It’s a risk, but I agree it could come in useful. Maybe we could disable their systems…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That thought sparked an idea in Aris’s head as the brief conversation he’d had with Georgina came flooding back about Julia’s own chip having been disabled. “Georgina said they disabled Julia’s chip,” he said. “So maybe we can do the same to all of the chips in case they try anything with our friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can we do that?” Vince asked Hans. “Is that possible?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The PFC might be able to hack the system, but it’s a long shot,” Hans said slowly. “The technology is fantastic, so we can but hope.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Send them a Netblock message,” said Vince. “But make sure they don’t disable Aris or Teresa’s if possible. You’re right, we’ll have a better chance of getting them out if Teresa can tell us exactly where they are inside the building.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris had a few memories about WICKED headquarters, having spent most of his life there before the Trials, but the building was so huge that finding anyone in there would be almost impossible. He hoped that Julia knew a few more details from her own time there and where they kept the Immunes; it would buy them a lot of time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How exactly do we plan on getting in?” asked Rafael. “Because WICKED have extremely tight security systems and it’s not like we can just go waltzing in there...”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We have guard uniforms in one of the Bergs from when a few people went in to get the cure,” Vince explained. “We have radios to keep in contact when we split up, because we </span>
  <em>
    <span>will</span>
  </em>
  <span> need to split up.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can map the building with Julia,” Aris added.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince told him to remember to bring some paper and a pencil, and informed them of the fact that they had plenty of Launchers and guns onboard the Berg. Mary started asking about flight times and they found out that it would take around four hours to get there. Aris tried to do the math in his head, working out that it would be dark or almost dark by the time they landed there, taking into account the hour time difference. That was doable. Hopefully there would be less guards around at that time, but Aris wouldn’t bet on it. WICKED probably anticipated that they would somehow try and get their friends back, so security might be as tight as ever. They would just have to see when they got there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can take any of the Bergs except the one we just came back in,” said Nella. “The rest should all be charged.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince rubbed his hands together, “Perfect. Let’s get set up, then. Hans, are you staying here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The man nodded and explained that he would be of more use helping to disable the chips while he’s not running around the WICKED building. Aris didn’t point out that he might be able to do it directly if he came with them, but by then they might be in range enough for them to be controlled, anyway. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It felt like they were moving quickly when Vince told them all that they would be leaving now, but it was what needed to happen to prevent as much harm to their friends as possible. WICKED already had over an hour lead on them, and they could certainly do a lot of damage in just an hour. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We can talk strategy on the Berg,” said Vince. “Let’s just get moving, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they were on one of the Bergs, identical to the last, the others all flopped into the seats lining the main room but Julia unrolled the large sheet of paper she’d found in the supply room. Aris sat opposite her on the floor, crossing his legs beneath him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Floor four was where the girls were kept, separate from the boys who I think were on floor three,” Julia explained as she made some notes. “Floor nine is some sort of massive hospital; loads of little rooms off of a long hallway.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I remember that. Most of the floors were offices and rooms for the staff with little lobbies connecting them. There’s also a basement level and the Mazes under that, but nothing important was down there I don’t think,” said Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He watched Julia draw a few sketches of the rough outline of the complex, labelling each floor with what they could remember and writing a few notes beside it. Once she was finished, Aris took the pencil from her and made some notes of his own, remembering things about the building that he didn’t even know he knew.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think we’re ready?” Julia asked. “If that’s all you can remember?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris nodded and turned to face everyone sitting on the chairs in the main room of the Berg, “We’ve finished the map.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll grab Vince,” said Mary as she stood from her chair to find the man who was back in the control room with Nella.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The others all gathered around the makeshift map when Vince surfaced, taking a close look at Aris and Julia’s handiwork. Julia began explaining each of the different rooms and floors, determination seeping from her voice as she spoke with a sort of authority that Aris had never seen from her before. It was clear how much this rescue mission meant to her; Aris could empathise with being separated from all of your friends. When he ended up with the Gladers after being separated from the girls, it felt like the world was crushing him and testing his ability to hold it together. He’d never expected it to feel as frightening as it had, as if all the security he’d thought he’d had had been completely wiped out from beneath his feet.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I have that pencil?” asked Thomas, taking it from Julia’s hand and turning the piece of paper around to face him. “I remember the ground floor from when they not so kindly offered to remove the Swipe. Obviously you’ve drawn the atrium and the rooms we were put in but there’s also a weapons room here and an exit here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, shuck!” Minho exclaimed. “Do you remember that WICKED woman we held hostage to open the doors for us?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah and you lost her,” said Newt in a deadpan manner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda snorted, obviously remembering that event that had played out when Aris and the others had all thought that their little group had escaped without them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Brenda?” asked Thomas. “Got anything to add?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris always forgot that she used to work for WICKED, but now she shook her head, “No, sorry. I never learnt my way around that place.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They all studied the map for a moment before anyone spoke again, memorising all the details before them. This would be extremely useful for those of them without any initial idea of the way around that huge building.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, turn that over, let’s figure out a plan…” said Vince.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Step one was to get inside the building wearing the guard uniforms, and either using one of the key cards they have in a pocket of one of the uniforms or stealing one off a guard outside the main doors. Vince made that alternative seem a lot simpler than it probably would be, so Aris just hoped that the key card would be sufficient enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Step two was to split into groups: Minho and Brenda were to go to floor three to find the boys, while Aris and Julia would go to floor four for the girls. Rafael and Mary were to create a distraction at one of the hidden side entrances Julia had mentioned, using an explosive from the weapons room when everyone was ready to get out of there. Newt and Thomas would search the rest of the building for their friends in case they were keeping them separate from the other Immunes which seemed highly likely. Vince was going to stay in position on the ground floor, and Nella would stay on the Berg, ready for their quick escape. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Step three was to get everyone out safely and back on the Berg with as little casualties as possible, preferably none.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They were obviously going to run into some sort of trouble at some point and need to defend themselves against the WICKED guards, especially when it came to getting the Immunes out of there; they certainly weren’t going to let them go without a fight. But they had done so much together so far with little or no plan, so Aris felt confident that they could work together to make this work. They had to. It wasn’t like they had many other options.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This sound doable?” Vince asked them all before taking their silence as a yes. “Alright, then enjoy the next few hours of peace before things start kicking off. Oh, and Hans has managed to disable all of the chips, by the way, minus Teresa and Aris’s. The PFC managed to hack their system. I’ll be in the control room if you need anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nobody spoke for a moment after the man left them all gathered there in the middle of the room. Aris was slightly reassured that his friends wouldn’t have a chance of being controlled by WICKED against their will, even though the fact that himself or Teresa could still be controlled was a risk. But it was a risk he was willing to take for the advantage the telepathy would give them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After the Right Arm leaders had dispersed away from Aris and his friends, Newt nudged Thomas in the side, “At least you won’t be acting on impulse this time, Tommy.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! The last time we were in WICKED, we had no idea what was happening and you were in a bit of a crisis if I remember rightly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not a crisis,” Newt huffed. “And we thought that Aris and Teresa’s group had ditched us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We thought that </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> ditched </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Aris exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There was miscommunication. We’ll be fine this time,” Thomas said, gesturing to where the radios had been unearthed and placed on a table behind him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris came to sit beside Julia when it was time for a quick meal from the pots the cooks had provided them with, acting as their dinner for the day. He was grateful for the chance to talk to her because so much had been left unsaid about everything that had happened in the last few hours, including her realisation that Georgina is in fact her mother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did you remember Georgina?” Aris asked her. “Your mum.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia’s gaze flickered up to meet his and she sighed, “I had one of those dream memories. But it’s fuzzy and I don’t really </span>
  <em>
    <span>feel </span>
  </em>
  <span>anything, if you know what I mean. I’m just… so confused.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you remember?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I remember being taken from her. They almost killed her; she wouldn’t let me go without a fight. We had nothing at that point,” said Julia. “But that’s all I remember. Nothing about my childhood or any further back. It’s like… I’ve been given this information and now I just want more of it but I </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There was something they said before I went into the Maze. About the Swipe eventually wearing off and the memories eventually returning over time,” Aris said. “But neither Newt or Minho have had any memories come back and they were the first to enter the Maze years ago.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long were they in there for?” Julia asked quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Two years,” said Aris. “They were some of the first to go in. So were Sonya and Harriet, actually…” he trailed off, thinking about his friends who could be going through God knows what right about now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hated to think what WICKED might be doing to them, but they would just have to wait and see what they found when they got there, he supposed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“ETA is ten minutes!” Vince shouted, “If you haven’t got on a uniform, get one on sharpish, please! Thomas, that means you, too!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris fastened up the jacket which was about two sizes too large for him, and adjusted the belt around his waist. The uniform consisted of a red jacket which faded into black below the elbow, with grey stripes decorating it. It had black trousers with deep pockets and a belt with fastenings for guns, and had ‘WICKED’ emblazoned on the right sleeve. There was a black helmet which Aris tucked under his arm for now, making his way back to the main room of the Berg.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think that suits you, Aris,” Brenda teased with a wink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I think not,” he replied. “Seriously, does anyone’s uniform fit them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” Newt groaned, rolling the sleeves to his jacket. “How big were these people?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Apparently like giants compared to you scrawny bunch,” Vince said, grinning smugly in his uniform which actually fitted him, along with the three other Right Arm leaders.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, </span>
  <em>
    <span>mine</span>
  </em>
  <span> fits!” yelled Minho.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t rub it in!” shouted Julia, who had definitely it the worst because she was the smallest out of all of them. The fabric was practically drowning her but she was somehow making it work just fine, having done a decent job of rolling up the sleeves and the hem of the trousers so it didn’t look quite so oversized and obviously borrowed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris took a swig of water from his bottle, trying to dull back the nerves that were building in his stomach. The radio Vince had given him was sitting in one of the belt loops, connected to his earpiece, and he had a small handgun in there as well, not that he’d be using that unless it was completely necessary, and even then he would shoot low. He was far too soft hearted to ever be a proper guard. The Launchers were piled up on a table near the exit, ready for them all to grab one before they left the ship. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Who has the key card?” Vince asked, searching his own pockets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment's silence as everyone checked, before Julia held it up to the light, “Got it. Dr L. McCauley. What happened to him?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t want to know,” Aris said with a grimace, remembering back to the infiltration to get the cure. Let’s just say that this man hadn’t known what was coming for him before it did. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You best keep that safe,” said Mary. “That’s our easy way in if it’s still valid.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia nodded and returned the card to the pocket of her jacket.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long now?” Brenda asked, bouncing up and down on her heels.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“About to come in for a landing,” Nella called from the control room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince nodded, “Helmets on. Let’s do this.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris caught Julia’s eyes as she folded up her map and handed it over to Vince, giving her a small reassuring smile before slipping the black helmet over his head. There was good visibility through it; it just looked completely black on the outside. If he didn’t already know each of his friends different postures and heights, he’d have a hard time recognising them all like this because they all looked practically identical. It would be a perfect cover for them getting inside the headquarters. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Aris, where are you?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>came Teresa’s voice, so demanding and forceful inside his head that he flinched. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Teresa? Are you okay? We’re about to land, we’re coming to get you all. Where are you?”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Floor six,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she said before Aris felt the connection suddenly cut off. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn’t have time to consider the fact that the girl had sounded so calm and assured, despite being held captive by WICKED, or that she’d suddenly got inside his head and then left again without trace. In normal circumstances, he would have found this odd or maybe slightly concerning, but the thought didn’t pass him by in this hour of anxiety. Aris wasted no time in telling the others about her message, and let what little skepticism he might have had completely disperse so he could focus on step one of this rescue mission. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their group all stood together by the door as the Berg shook, descending into the airport, Aris taking up the rear behind Newt and Thomas. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready?” Vince called, finger hovering over the door release button. “Let me do the talking, act like we’re meant to be here, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doors creaked open and sunset orange light seeped into the Berg. Extending outward with another grinding noise, the ramp lowered onto the concrete port agonisingly slowly before the group began to walk down, but something was causing a murmur from the front, currently unknown to Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But it didn't take him long to realise the source of the confusion. There stood the huge WICKED headquarters, looming in all it’s evil glory... but where were the guards? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There should have been guards surrounding the building, just as Julia remembered, and just as Aris remembered there always being. So where were they?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stick to the plan,” Vince growled after a beat of silence, starting towards the building.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris felt sick with nerves but followed close behind the group, walking in a secure and efficient formation through the array of Berg’s and vans, even though there were no guards around to question them of their presence. It was obvious that something was off; surely security would be even tighter with WICKED knowing that they would be trying to get their friends back. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Crossing the distance between the Berg and the main entrance to the headquarters made him feel incredibly vulnerable; they had no cover, no protection. Aris clutched his Launcher ever tighter under his arm, anticipating some kind of attack. But they successfully managed to reach the door with no problems and nobody around to stop them. Julia stepping forward with the key card in her hand, the group parting for her, with Aris hot on her heels. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she suddenly stopped in her tracks before she reached the card reader, and Aris peered over her shoulder to see what she could be looking at:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A green light was already on at the card reader. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And when Julia reached out a hand to test the door, it swung straight open. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And so it begins.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. twenty eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>There was something wrong here. Something unequivocally, undeniably </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong</span>
  </em>
  <span>. If they hadn’t been reluctant to go into this before, they certainly were now; WICKED were supposed to have tight security and this was anything but tight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a single, skeptical glance back towards the rest of them, Julia pushed open the unlocked door and stepped through into the home of the formidable beast itself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas noticed Newt’s slight hesitation and placed a hand to the small of his back in reassurance. “Come on, let’s go and find our friends.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two boys were the last to enter the dimly lit building, quietly sealing the door closed behind them and assembling with the others among the shadows. This section of the building was painfully familiar to the previous time, as if the air still held some of those memories of their escape to Denver: the note Newt gave to Thomas, the poor woman Minho held hostage, the argument the two of them had…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rafael and Mary parted ways so they could head off in the direction of the hidden exit which Aris had pointed out on the map, hidden behind a cinder block wall with a small ladder leading out. They were going to pick up an explosive from the weapons room on their way there; the place where Newt had first felt the debilitating effects of the Flare taking control of his mind and thoughts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince was next to separate from the group, taking his position down on the ground floor and becoming one with the shadows until they were prepared to leave. He would be able to hear what’s going on through regular updates from each of them via the radios, so wouldn’t be entirely in the dark for however long this rescue mission was going to take.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The final six took off in the direction of the lift, Aris and Julia taking the lead. The doors slid straight open when they pressed the button to call the lift and they piled in, requesting floors three, four and six respectively. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Heard anything from Teresa?” Thomas asked Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing. I can’t reach her,” said Aris with a small shake of his head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fact that Teresa had suddenly appeared and then disappeared just as quickly made Newt feel a strange sense of unease which somehow felt different from his current nervous state. If he’d had more time to think about it, he might have considered that more caution should have been taken in regard to Teresa’s message, and that blindly trusting her could perhaps be a bad idea. But the doors to the lift silenced any further thoughts when they slid open, discarding Brenda and Minho onto floor three with a singular nod from the pair. They were tasked with finding the male Immunes and lying low until the others were all ready to make their move and finally leave this place, which shouldn’t pose many problems along the way if they were careful. And, of course, they would have to be for this to work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took a matter of seconds before it was time for Aris and Julia to part ways. The lift doors slid open once more, revealing a corridor which seemed almost identical to the last, except this one had a flicker of a human shadow dancing in the distance under the fluorescent lighting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Careful,” Thomas said as the pair stepped out of the lift. “And good luck.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt hoped that the cover story they might have to use would be sufficient enough to let them pass by without any trouble. What they didn’t need was for any of their actions to alert suspicion, so they could successfully slip under the radar just as planned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Neither Newt nor Thomas spoke a word as the lift ascended up to floor six, the metal creaking and groaning in its wake. After the now-familiar ping sounded, both boys slipped soundless past the doors with Thomas taking a cautious yet confident lead. Their Launchers remained tucked tightly under their arms, ready to fire if need be, and Newt carefully adjusted his grip on his own so it wouldn’t begin to slip from his slightly clammy hands. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last time they’d been in this building, a beetle blade had been scurrying around whilst watching and recording their every move, but now there appeared to be none in sight. But Newt spotted a single camera on the ceiling and instantly straightened out his posture, noticing Thomas do the same thing in front of him just in case anyone happened to be watching the footage of the corridor right at this moment. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After activating his radio in his belt, Newt spoke quietly as to not be overheard if there were any microphones in that camera, “There are cameras on the ceilings. Watch out for them, over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A glance back in his direction from Thomas assured Newt that the message had been successfully played on each radio currently on their channel, and he let out a shaky breath that he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. He was tense; his nerves were on edge and he needed to remind himself that oxygen was required for normal bodily functions. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The corridor in which they were walking was dimly lit and the only source of light was from the overhead fluorescent lights, casting long shadows which reciprocated their every movement. Doors to many different rooms lined the corridor but each little window was dark, and none appeared to be occupied.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was also eerily quiet, with only the low murmur or electricity to keep them company. Newt wondered where all the people were; where all the scientists and doctors were, because such a procedure like finding a cure surely required a large head count.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a crackle in his earpiece and he had no trouble hearing the message over the roaring silence around him. “We’re at the hidden entrance,” came Rafael’s muffled voice. “Going to set up the explosives, keep us updated, over.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Both boys had stopped to listen, but Thomas was now staring in the direction of a single door with light pouring out of the window, spilling over the floor a few meters ahead. It was the only room with any signs of life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When they cautiously approached the window, all Newt could see was a laboratory-like room with a multitude of tubes and scientific devices strewn over a bench in the middle of the room. They were unable to see the entirety of the room considering that the window was only small, and both boys were aware that they would have to open this door if they were to see what lay around the corner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stay behind me,” Thomas murmured. “We’ll just see who it is, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt nodded and watched with held breath as Thomas quietly pushed the door open and took a step into the light with his Launcher poised and ready to fire if necessary. His heart was pounding so fast and so loud in his ears that he was almost certain that whoever was in there would hear them coming just from the sound of the rapid beat. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It took him by surprise when Thomas took a sharp inhale of breath and lowered his weapon before walking further into the room with Newt hot on his heels, Launcher still raised in anticipation. A single figure was perched on a chair by one of the desks, her back to the door and the two boys. She didn’t appear to have heard Thomas’s large intake of breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Teresa!” Thomas exclaimed. “Are you okay? Where are the others?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy had already removed his helmet so Newt followed suit, revealing himself to the girl who quickly snapped her head around to the sound of Thomas’s voice. She didn’t appear to be surprised to see them, which Newt could understand considering that she had tipped Aris off on her location, but what he didn’t understand was her lack of enthusiasm for the fact that they were here to get her out. Her lips parted as if she wasn’t sure what to say to the two boys standing in front of her, and her gaze never quite met either of theirs. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Teresa?” Thomas asked again, taking a cautious step back towards Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was then that the girl looked him straight in the eye and shook her head slightly, “I’m sorry Thomas.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? What are you talking about? We need to go and find the others, we’re getting you all out of here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something flipped inside Newt’s head at that moment as sinking realisation dawned. He hastily flicked on his radio just as Teresa’s gaze fell over his shoulder, landing on something directly behind him. Newt didn’t have to look to know what was going on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have to do this,” she said as she stood up, taking a deep breath before strolling past the two boys.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt turned to watch her pass, and his eyes finally landed on the two men standing in the doorway of the room who were quickly joined by Teresa. His breath hitched in his chest as recognition slammed painfully into him like a punch to the face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There stood that thin figure with the unforgettable, rat-like face belonging to the one man he despised most in the world.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was Janson.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>oops.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. twenty nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you remember the room number?” muttered Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Julia was leading the way, her confident strides ensuring that nobody they passed in the hallway questioned their presence. It didn’t take long for Aris to trust that their disguise was actually working after they encountered three different people, one of which actually greeted them as they passed. He had been surprised by that, to say the least.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“B-27,” said Julia. “Only a little further.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>These hallways were so long and winding that it made Aris wonder why WICKED even needed to build a Maze when the complex was enough of a maze as it is. They passed a stairwell leading down to the ground floor which they had unfortunately missed off their map, but he mentally logged it for later as a quicker and more discreet exit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After passing a few more doors, Julia slowed slightly, leaning in closer to Aris to whisper in his ear. Newt’s tip-off about those cameras had been useful; they now knew to stay alert and also keep quiet in case microphones were implanted in them, hence the lowered voices and lack of communication between the pair thus far.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“There’s a card reader on the door,” Julia whispered. “You get rid of the guard and I’ll get us in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guard? What guard?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But the words had barely passed his lips before they turned the next corner and were faced with a guard, dressed identically to them, pacing the corridor with a Launcher tucked under their arm. Aris almost missed the fact that Julia had concealed herself in a small alcove and he suddenly panicked before realising what she was doing. With the guard’s back to them, now was the perfect opportunity to get them to leave with as little disturbance as possible. All Aris had to do was convince them that they were needed elsewhere, so he could take their position guarding the room whilst Julia got them in using the key card. This way they wouldn’t need to draw attention to themselves by firing a Launcher. Aris just hoped that Minho and Brenda would have a plan of their own, what with Julia having hold of their only key card.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a shaky breath, he straightened his sinking posture and strode with as much confidence as he could muster towards the guard who had now turned and was watching Aris approach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” he said, instantly mentally cursing his informality. “You’re needed downstairs. They said you’d know what I meant, didn’t give me any details.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The guard grunted and gave a single nod, “You taking over here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And so Aris stood firmly in the same position the guard had just been in, watching him march off down the corridor and finally turn the corner. He looked back towards Julia who quickly swiped the card through the reader, unlocking it with a single, soft click. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Light chatter could be heard when the heavy, metal door was pushed open, which simmered out as soon as the two ‘guards’ were noticed in the doorway. Ten girls were sprawled over the bunk beds or huddled together on the floor, and every pair of eyes stared, unblinking, their icy gazes so expectant.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” a brown haired girl snapped when neither Aris nor Julia spoke up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All initial restraint was wiped from Julia as she tugged her helmet off in one swift motion, finally revealing herself to her friends which encouraged Aris to follow suit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girls were on Julia in an instant, practically crushing her in a tight embrace and bombarding her with questions at a million miles an hour. Aris watched on with a small smile, ignored by all but one blonde haired girl who was watching him cautiously. She placed a kiss on Julia’s cheek before turning to him and taking in his current outfit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s she doing here?” the girl asked. “You’re not a real guard are you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is it that obvious?” asked Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl shook her head with a small, high pitched laugh, “No. You both make good guards. But seriously, what’s going on? Who are you and what are you doing here?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My name’s Aris. And we’re here to get you out. All of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girls had fallen quiet and had heard those final words, immediately looking to Julia for confirmation. Aris took the chance to properly look at each of them, taking in their pale skin and red rimmed eyes. They had marks on their temples, as if something had been placed over their heads and remained there for a long period of time. It still looked sore, as if it had happened recently, but the slight dent in their skin that the mark covered suggested that whatever WICKED put them through was a regular occurrence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s right,” said Julia. “We have people to help us get out, and also to rescue our friends. Have you heard anything about them?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your friends? We haven’t heard anything. Are they Immune?” asked the girl who had first snapped at them when they’d entered the room. She appeared to have some sort of authority, and Aris recalled what Julia had said about the girl who acted as the leader during their Maze Trials. Maybe this was her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, WICKED took them when-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Julia was cut off by the crackle of their earpiece, holding up a finger to signal for silence so they could listen more intently. Whatever was happening on the other end of the channel was muffled as if the voices were further away, and sounded nothing like the previous message they’d received.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Wait, are you telling me… Teresa? You set us up?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“We have to do this, Thomas… if only you could understand… Janson’s right, we can do this but we need your help.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“... Bring this to my office, we need to have a little chat…”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Hold on. That was Janson. Newt and Thomas had found Teresa, but they were also facing the wicked beast itself. And Teresa...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Teresa set us up,” Julia said slowly, her eyes cold with fear. “This is a trap.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Aris wouldn’t let himself believe this. Teresa? She’d told him, promised him, that she hadn’t agreed with what Janson had wanted from them both in that telepathic message. So why was she doing this? After everything WICKED had done to them, was she really still on their side?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stay here,” Aris found himself saying. “Lie low. I need to go and find Vince and see what to do. Nobody can communicate with Newt’s radio filling up the channel, they’ve probably cuffed him so he can’t turn it off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aris, are you sure?” asked Julia.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before he could change his mind, he nodded and started back towards the door, preparing to put the helmet back on just before cold fingers slipped around his wrist. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Be careful,” said the blonde haired girl. “We need you, Aris”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine. See you in a minute.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He backed out of the room, heart already frantic in his chest, as he mentally mapped out where that stairwell was which would lead him directly down to where Vince was positioned on the ground floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The corridor was deserted, the guard still not returned from wherever it was Aris had blindly sent him, but he didn’t feel alone. His skin was crawling, maybe from anxiety or maybe from a hidden pair of eyes watching his every move. He hoped it was the former rather than the latter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because of Newt’s smart move to indirectly inform them that he and Thomas were in deep trouble, all of them on this channel knew that the plan wouldn’t be able to go on any longer. But maybe they weren’t dead men walking just yet; maybe they just needed to rescue two more people from WICKED’s clutches and get out of here without a scratch. There was always a glimmer of hope out there somewhere. They weren’t in the dark, but they were far from the light. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aris!” someone hissed before he was hauled into a dark corner, heart in his throat before he realised that he was now face to face with the man he’d been searching for.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do we do?” Aris whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Vince sighed. “Betrayal wasn’t exactly part of the plan.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was certainly a huge blow to the heart, to say the least. He’d trusted that Teresa had changed like she’d said she had; it appeared, however, that she was simply intransigent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Betrayal hung in the air so intense that it was practically tangible, and they were all on the edge of choking on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is there no backup plan?” asked Aris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not without the radios, but all we’re going to hear for a while is whatever Newt’s radio picks up. Until he turns the damn thing off, of course.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris tried to think. They needed a new plan quickly or WICKED were going to do something terrible to Newt and Thomas. He was especially worried about Newt; with him not being Immune, he was at their disposal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Say we get them away from Janson,” said Aris. “Do we continue as planned? And what about Teresa?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What about her?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You heard what Thomas said! She set us up. And if WICKED knew that Newt and Thomas were here…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“... then we know that you are here, also,” a woman’s voice finished.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris spun on his heel to face the woman he thought could be trusted. The woman he thought was on their side. What little hope he’d had before was quickly extinguished when Ava Paige smiled at him, her eyes as wicked as the symbol emblazoned on her uniform.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*evil laughter in the distance*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>note: the next few chapters will be relatively short as the story flips between different perspectives.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. thirty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>just to be clear: Mary is one of the Right Arm leaders who was supposed to be setting up the distraction outside the complex with Rafael.<br/>(also, this is incredibly short but just go with it for now)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mary wasn’t sure what she expected to happen when she and Rafael returned to the Berg after realising that the initial plan couldn’t possibly go ahead now that those two boys had been captured. With the radios currently out of action, there was no way to contact Vince and the others to see what was going to happen next, so, naturally, Mary and Rafeal abandoned their work on the explosives and returned to the Berg. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except they had a slight problem.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nella was missing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She was supposed to have stayed on the Berg while it recharged and to be ready for the eventual escape with all of the Immunes but she was currently nowhere to be found. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But still, Mary didn’t expect much to be wrong. Because surely Nella would turn up in one of these other rooms; she had no way into the WICKED complex and they hadn’t seen her by the hidden entrance, so it wasn’t like she’d run off anywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At this point, Mary half-expected her to appear from behind one of the doors and scold the pair of them from frightening her, despite their cautiousness to ensure that their presence was made known. At this point, Mary still expected everything to be okay in the end.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But oh, how wrong she was.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What Mary definitely hadn’t expected was to find a body lying motionless in the room where they kept the weapons, with blood pooling around the head. And what she hadn’t expected was for that body to be Nella.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“RAFAEL!” she screamed as she frantically searched for any sign of a pulse, but seriously, what had she been expecting? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Rafael rushed into the room and his eyes widened in absolute terror. He also hadn’t expected this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Was she shot?” he choked out as he came to kneel down beside Mary.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, you see, this question may have seemed obvious if it wasn’t for the gun which lay on the floor a meter from her outstretched hand. On inspection, Mary came to realise that the bullet had entered the poor woman’s head on the left side, and yet the gun was located near to her right hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hadn’t expected it to be a suicide, even though it may have looked suspiciously like one, which may be the first time in a while that her expectations lived up to reality. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But this situation required comprehension. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because if it wasn’t a suicide, it was a murder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Mary knew that a murder involved not just a victim but a murderer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now, most of her previous expectations had lived up to their inaccurate reputation, so Mary knew to expect the absolute worst: that said murderer was still on the Berg. But she hadn’t expected that expectation to come true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All it took was for Mary to notice Rafael’s terrified eyes sliding slowly but surely over her shoulder before she vowed to never trust her expectations ever again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because what she certainly hadn’t expected was for her and Rafael to fall unexpectedly into the hands of WICKED.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry????</p><p>Edit: I won’t be able to update for a few days because I'm away from home and my laptop doesn’t have wifi, but I’ll be back to regular updates from the 13th/14th when I get home.<br/>Xx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. thirty one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A short break, but I'm back to posting now and have lots of chapters lined up for the next few days :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>“Where are they?” Thomas demanded, voice full of despise and anger as they were pulled back down the long hallway, hands secured tightly behind their backs like the prisoners they now are. “Where are our friends?”</p>
<p>Janson simply shook his head and tutted scornfully, “All in good time. Patience never was your strong point, Thomas.”</p>
<p>“Floor seven?” Newt asked when they were escorted into a lift and Teresa pressed the respective button. If anyone was listening on the radio he was now unable to turn off, they would know exactly where they were going. “What’s on that floor?”</p>
<p>“My office,” Janson replied coldly.</p>
<p>Teresa was holding onto Newt’s arm with a considerable grasp, but it was obvious that Janson was hurting Thomas with the way the boy squirmed and flinched under his vice-like hold. Newt wanted to punch that man right in the face and mess up his rat-like features once and for all, but he knew that he was defenceless. They had no weapons now; they didn’t even have their <em> hands </em> free, let alone anything else. And with that other man watching over them like a hawk, all Newt could do was play prisoner with trepidation in his gut. </p>
<p>He tried to make eye contact with Teresa but she refused to look at him, simply staring straight ahead at the doors to the lift. What was going on with her? Was she being controlled to do this or was it at her own free will? </p>
<p>Her eyes showed no traces of being controlled like Gally’s had when he killed Chuck, but Newt couldn’t imagine that she would be doing this if she was in her right mind. But then, maybe she wasn’t… </p>
<p>What had Aris said about not being able to remember anything bad about WICKED? Maybe it was happening to Teresa, too. If he could say something that might trigger a reaction, maybe she might snap out of this and realise how atrociously she was acting.</p>
<p>And so Newt blurted the first thing that came to mind, “They killed Chuck. They controlled Gally to throw the knife which should have killed Thomas, but it didn’t because Chuck jumped in front of him—”</p>
<p>“Silence the boy,” Janson demanded scathingly.</p>
<p>That was all it took for the man watching over them to jerk suddenly towards Newt, accidentally knocking into Janson’s shoulder in his ardour for predation. What happened next almost occurred in slow motion:</p>
<p>Janson’s grip on Thomas’s arm loosened during the collision of shoulders with the other man, giving him enough of a reprieve to wriggle free. Thomas swung his elbow to the side with surprising vigour, managing to connect with the assailant’s stomach. The man doubled over and tripped into the side of the lift with a satisfying crash, in the space Teresa had been standing a split second previous.</p>
<p>“Don’t touch him,” Thomas spat as Janson tried to reign him back in with an ever-tightened hold. “You lay a finger on him and I swear you will pay for it.”</p>
<p>Janson made no comment as the doors of the lift slid open and they all piled out of that confined space with anger tangible in the air. Newt sneaked another glance at Teresa to see if his comment had provoked a reaction, and felt smug to see her looking relatively startled. It seemed that they had messed with her memories so she would work willingly for them — a wicked game that only WICKED would be prepared to play.</p>
<p>The two boys were marched down yet another endless hallway, taking a few turns before ending up outside of an unlocked door which Janson opened and swiftly walked them into. The man that Thomas had hit stood outside of the door, gently massaging his stomach. Newt didn’t even bother to repress his smirk.</p>
<p>Their hands were tied down to the wooden chairs they were forced into, Teresa taking care of Newt before sitting down on a chair beside Janson on the other side of his desk. The small office contained a multitude of books and a few photographs on some of the shelves which Newt tried not to look at in case he saw a family of Rat-kids or a Rat-wife. Ugh.</p>
<p>Instead he focused on Teresa who was watching him and Thomas as if they were strangers instead of best friends. Her gaze held an incomprehensible emotion and Newt wondered for the second time what could possibly be going through her head right now.</p>
<p>“So…” Janson began, “We need to have a little chat. Teresa has been able to understand how important all of this is, and I’m hoping you will too, eventually. If not, well… that’s only going to make this even harder for you.”</p>
<p>“Where are our friends?” Thomas demanded vehemently.</p>
<p>Janson simply shook his head, “Don’t you worry about them for now. Don’t you want to know why we’re doing all this?”</p>
<p>“To find a permanent cure, yeah we already know that’s not going to work out,” Newt said with a roll of his eyes.</p>
<p>To his surprise, Janson laughed, “Is that what Ava ended up telling you? A bright woman, she is. You see, while you thought she was undercover here for the PFC, she was actually undercover <em> there </em> for <em> us. </em>Her telling you that a permanent cure is impossible to find was a way to make sure that you would come here to try to stop us from ‘unnecessarily’ harming these Immunes. We believe that a permanent cure really does exist, but we just need to run some more tests. Teresa, if you could explain.”</p>
<p>The girl audibly swallowed and lifted her chin, making eye contact with both boys for the first time, “The cure that was found from the enzyme produced in the brains of the Immunes only gives passive immunity, which is short term immunity to a disease which is destroyed by something not produced the body itself. That’s the enzyme from the Immunes. What we need to find is a way to make the immunity active, so that the non-Immunes can fight off the virus themselves so they are then<em> always </em>immune to it. We’re trying something different to before, looking at the composition of the blood of the Immunes when the enzyme is stimulated. It could work.”</p>
<p>Newt didn’t miss the collective ‘we’ linking Teresa to WICKED. So she really was one of them now, after everything they’d put them all through. Traitor.</p>
<p>“Exactly,” said Janson, “I couldn’t have said it better myself. So that is what we are doing here, and why we need you and your friends to be involved in all of this. Well, your Immune friends anyway. Newt, isn’t it?” Janson asked him, “The control subject. A5.”</p>
<p>Newt glared at him, pouring every ounce of loathing and resentment into his stare. But Janson held eye contact for a few seconds too long, as if working out what to say next. Nothing good, surely. A terrible smile crossed his face and he called for the man outside who opened the door and poked his head inside almost cautiously.</p>
<p>“You can take this one,” Janson said insinuatingly, gesturing to Newt. “The isolation rooms will do just fine.”</p>
<p>Newt’s stomach dropped a thousand feet, adrenaline suddenly surging through his veins. He kicked violently at the desk, sending it flying into Janson’s body, his own strength surprising him. But the other man was on him in an instant and he was unable to do anything as he was untied and forcefully tugged to his feet, hissing as all his weight landed on his bad leg.</p>
<p>Thomas had already managed to turn in his chair, attempting to swing his legs against the man’s, but to no avail. He was prepared for the attack this time and skillfully dodged the incoming sweep of Thomas’s legs.</p>
<p>“Get off of me!” Newt spat, jerking his body away from the man who wrenched his arms back in place, sending an agonising jolt of pain through his shoulders.</p>
<p>Both boys were helpless as they squirmed against their respective restraints and Newt sent one final panicked glance in Thomas’s direction as he was forced from the room, away from all his hope and happiness.</p>
<p>“LET HIM GO!” Thomas yelled. “No! Stop! Don’t you hurt him, don’t you dare lay a finger on him, you hear me? LET HIM <em> GO </em> YOU <em> MONSTERS! </em>”</p>
<p>“TOMMY! Hey, get off me! THOMAS!”</p>
<p>“Don’t hurt him, I swear—”</p>
<p>His screams were cut off when the door was slammed shut, Newt never relenting with his kicking and thrashing in a hopeless attempt to wriggle free. </p>
<p>So this was it. </p>
<p>How everything falls apart. </p>
<p>Newt suddenly felt another pair of hands on him from behind and turned to see a dark haired woman holding him still, aiming a syringe at his neck, injecting him…</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The world had turned white. </p>
<p>Nothing but white. </p>
<p>The floor he was lying on was white, the walls, the door, the ceiling…</p>
<p>Everything but his clothes.</p>
<p>Newt reached for his radio to find it gone, his earpiece having been ripped out, too. </p>
<p>He was alone.</p>
<p>In this world of white…</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. thirty two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>Aris couldn’t cope with hearing Newt’s desperate screams through his earpiece as he was dragged away from Thomas, and he ended up tearing the thing out as he glared daggers at Ava Paige who stood before him.</p><p>She wasn’t alone. Behind her stood two WICKED guards, braced and ready to confine and torture on command. </p><p>“I don’t understand, Ava,” he said coldly. “I thought you were on our side.”</p><p>“Then you thought wrong my dear. I needed my original test subjects to return so we can complete the testing. If we hadn’t lost you in the first place, a lot of what’s happened here wouldn’t have been necessary,” said Ava.</p><p>“<em> Don’t put this on us, </em>” Aris spat.</p><p>A single flick of her hand encouraged both guards to close in on both Aris and Vince, gripping them both tightly by their wrists and snatching away both Launchers and the handguns in their belts. Neither of them bothered to struggle. It would have been pointless, anyway.</p><p>Aris just felt so utterly crushed.</p><p>First Teresa and now Ava? Who else was going to stab them in the back?</p><p>“You can take that one to the isolation rooms,” Ava said, gesturing towards Vince. “Aris… with me.”</p><p>The guard clutching Aris’s arm gave a rough tug, forcing him to stumble over his feet before following behind Ava, in the opposite direction from Vince. Aris shot him a fearful look as they were separated, and his eyes spoke the whole truth. Guilt. Terror. Uncertainty. Defencelessness. But there was nothing he or anyone could do now. </p><p>They’d walked into this trap and WICKED had watched on in humour. And Ava Paige, the woman whom the PFC had trusted, was behind it all. When did everything go so terribly wrong? They should have known that WICKED were insurmountable.</p><p>They reached floor nine after Ava and the guard led Aris up in the lift, careful not to meet his incandescent glare. He found himself walking down a dingy hallway with doors on either side and deep crimson curtains lining the windows as if they were concealing a multitude of horrors within. </p><p>Metal tables sat outside some of the rooms, spaced across the whole hallway, with medical equipment lying on top of them. Whatever was about to happen to him couldn’t be good by the looks of these devices. The sense of foreboding was painfully palpable.</p><p>But before Aris could properly consider upending one of the tables to try and get the guard to release his grip, he was shoved through a doorway and into a blindingly bright room with two doctors poised behind two desks. It took a few seconds for his eyes to adjust but he was already being tied down to the single chair which sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by tubes and cables and some sort of strange headpiece. </p><p>“What is this?” Aris grunted as he was roughly strapped to the chair. “What’s going on?”</p><p>With a languid nod of her head, Ava dismissed the guard before taking a seat on the wooden chair in front of one of the desks, ignoring the two doctors. Scientists. Whatever they were called.</p><p>“We just need to run a few tests on you, nothing to worry about,” said Ava. “But Aris, I need you to think carefully about this. You have nothing to hate us for, do you? After all, everything we’ve done has been to find a <em> cure </em>.”</p><p>Aris shook his head slowly, realisation finally dawning on him. She was playing on his strange amnesia, and yet she shouldn’t know anything about that. Unless...</p><p>“It was you,” he said slowly. “The amnesia. The memories… you’ve been taking them from me.”</p><p>Her surprise was infinitesimal, and she hid it was a sickly sweet smile, “Very good, Aris. You were always the most perceptive of them all. Teresa may be smart but she is malleable. You are not.”</p><p>“Is that why she’s doing this?” asked Aris. “You took her bad memories of you so she would work willingly?”</p><p>It was so cruel and so wicked that he could have almost laughed in spite of everything. Of course they would go to yet another extreme to get what they wanted, of course they would.</p><p>“She’s done well so far,” said Ava. “I hoped that I would have you on side, too, but that’s apparently not going to happen, is it?”</p><p>Aris clenched his jaw, trying to draw back the anger which was practically oozing from his every pore. He hadn’t thought that anything would suffice to making him feel the way he had when Rachel had been murdered, but this was coming close. <em> God, this was coming so close. </em></p><p>“You were in contact with your friends, I suppose?” Ava asked, reaching to unclip the radio from his belt.</p><p>He’d already removed the earpiece when Newt’s screams proved too much to handle, so he wasn’t sure if anyone was still hiding and active on their channel. Aris prayed that they weren’t; WICKED would be able to hear them now they had their radios, and would know that there are more of them in the building. If there were any of them left uncaptured, that is.</p><p>Ava chuckled to herself, “Come on, did you really think we didn’t know what you and your friends were up to?” she paused, clearly enjoying the appalled expression on Aris’s face. “The door… unlocked? The guards outside… nowhere to be seen? I expected more caution from you, I must admit. But I admire your determination to succeed in your mission. If only that determination was aimed in the right direction, Aris.”</p><p>“I am <em> never </em>going to help you.”</p><p>She smiled at him then, a terrible, <em> knowing </em> smile, “Ah, but Aris. That’s exactly what you’re going to do.”</p><p>Then the last thing he remembered was a needle piercing his skin, that headpiece being placed over his head and the feeling of nausea as the world faded into darkness around him…</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> But then he was suddenly awake.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He was lying on his back and streams of sunlight were falling through the branches and leaves above him, which swayed languidly in the slight breeze. There was a sense of serenity as he lay, eyes fixed above him, but this feeling was quickly stripped away as soon as he sat up. His heart stopped... </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There was no way… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He was back in the center of the Maze. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> There was the Homestead, standing broken and battered. There were the crops, now withering and dying. And the concrete walls themselves, standing tall and proud in all their looming glory.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Aris was sitting at the edge of the forest, on a bed of overgrown grass, and immediately rushed to his feet to see if anyone was around. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He couldn’t see anyone at first… until, yes, there was someone. Standing by the north door were three people he vaguely recognised but couldn’t work out who.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Hey!” he called out, voice slurred and heavy. He went to call out again, but noticed someone running out of the corner of his eye.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Rachel. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> She was headed towards the Map Room and he followed her instinctively, desperate to talk to his best friend. His feet pounded the overgrown grass, drawing nearer and nearer… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Rachel disappeared inside, and Aris followed. He was so close. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It went suddenly dark, then lights flickered on from above him. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He wasn’t in the Map Room anymore. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> His gaze followed the lights as they turned on one by one with a mechanical clang, all the way down the endless hallway which he was standing right in the middle of. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It went quiet after all of the lights had turned on, but then a noise started from behind him, making him instantly jump and spin on his heels. It sounded like a metal door creaking open. Then a terrible sound echoed out from within the door, one he would never forget, and a huge, mucus covered monster slipped out of it. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Fear twisted his gut and he ran on instinct, as fast as he could in the opposite direction. He needed to get away. To get out.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> The Griever chased him, creaking and groaning as it did so, drawing nearer and nearer… </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Until it materialised directly in front of him, and he stopped cold in his tracks.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> How did it get there? </em>
</p><p>
  <em> He couldn’t think of a logical answer before the Griever sprung towards him, extending one awful metal arm. Aris jumped out of it’s way, towards the only thing he could think of to use as a weapon. A pipe that ran up the wall. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It shouldn’t have been possible, but he ripped it easily off of the wall and held it defensively in front of him, forcing the Griever back a few feet. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Maybe this could work. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> Aris propelled his arm forward with a roar, launching the pipe right into the belly of the beast. There was a terrible moan as the Griever fell, metal arms collapsing to the floor. </em>
</p><p>
  <em> It was over.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> And his vision turned black… </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The next time Aris opened his eyes, Ava had been replaced by Teresa. There was a relentless throbbing in his head, so it took a moment for him to properly acknowledge the fact that his friend was sitting right beside him. Except she wasn’t the friend, she was the enemy.</p><p>“What do you want?” he mumbled as he feebly tested the restraints around his limbs. Still there, unfortunately.</p><p>“I need to talk to you,” said Teresa. She gestured for the two scientists to leave, and the woman flying around his bed making a cacophony of noise with those tubes finally flew away out of the room. “Can we talk about this, Aris?</p><p>“I’m guessing I don’t have much choice?”</p><p>Teresa sighed, not quite meeting his heavy-lidded eyes, “Listen. What we’re doing here is going to be worth it, okay? It’s all going to be worth it in the end. Do you understand that?”</p><p>“At the cost of your friends? Is it really worth that?”</p><p>Aris guessed that by now, all of them would be confined to the clutches of WICKED, and the way Teresa’s gaze flickered down to the floor confirmed this theory. If he’d had any hope left, this would have been enough to completely obliterate it. </p><p>“I worked it out,” Aris said quietly. “Why you’re doing this. What made you do this. Teresa, they took your memories, didn’t they? You can’t remember anything that would cause you to think anything against them, right?”</p><p>“Maybe,” Teresa said, not missing a beat. “But someone has to do this. If it wasn’t you, it was always going to be me. I never told you, did I? About what actually happened to cause Ava to betray Thomas?”</p><p>Aris thought back to that day at the Safe Haven, when Teresa had admitted that she hadn’t told the truth about the betrayal. He’d forgotten all about that until now.</p><p>“Tell me.”</p><p>Anything that Teresa said now wouldn’t compare to what she was currently doing to all her friends; this was the ultimate betrayal.</p><p>“Thomas told <em> me </em> his plan, and only me,” said Teresa. “But he never stopped to think that maybe I wouldn’t agree with him. So I told Ava what he was planning and we both went along with it, leading him to believe that his incredible plan was going to work. And that’s how I know, Aris. That’s how I know that I need to do this. He was my best friend and yet I still did that to him when I had all my memories to help find this all-important cure. That has to mean something, right?”</p><p>“Yeah, it does. It means that you are just as bad as the people who have tortured us our whole lives. God, we should never have trusted you,” his voice cracked as he trailed off.</p><p>How could she think that? How could anyone ever justify this?</p><p>A flicker of pain crossed Teresa’s face and she stood up so abruptly that she almost knocked the chair to the floor in her haste to leave the room and get away from the person she used to call her best friend. She was making Aris’s head pound even more than it had been before, and all he wanted was to curl up and close his eyes. But Teresa remained standing in the doorway. </p><p>“I’m sorry, okay?” she said suddenly, turning back around to face Aris. Tears were streaming down her pink flushed cheeks, “It’s like… I know I need to do it, but I can’t bear to see you all like this.”</p><p>“Then just stop it. Get us out of here. <em> Please </em>.”</p><p>“I can’t,” she whispered, “I can’t, Aris, I can’t. I’m so sorry.”</p><p>And just like that, she was gone. </p><p>Aris closed his eyes. </p><p>And he wished for this nightmare to be over.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter is from Minho's POV :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. thirty three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here's a Minho chapter which technically takes place in the middle of the previous chapter but hey, this works too.<br/>Enjoy ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“Is that the room?” Minho hissed as they dove around the next corner, away from the guards who were quickly approaching behind them. “Brenda? Talk to me!”</p><p>“Yes, that’s it!” she snapped, checking both ways before flinging herself around the corner leading to the room supposedly holding the male Immunes. </p><p>Before Minho could even say anything about actually getting inside the room, Brenda had shot down the guard in front of the door with her Launcher and was on him in an instant.</p><p>“Careful!” Minho whispered as Brenda started searching his body for the key card they needed to unlock this door.</p><p>She swore loudly as the electricity shot up her arm, the key card just slipping from the pocket of the guard’s jacket. Minho grabbed it off the floor and swiped it through the card reader just as he could hear footsteps coming from one of the corridors nearby. They might have been wearing guard uniforms, but that didn’t distract from the fact that they were entering this room unauthorised and had just shot down the person guarding the door. To anyone looking on, this was some very suspicious behaviour. </p><p>“Get inside, I’ll kick him in,” Minho said as Brenda strode past him, through the door he was holding open.</p><p>
  <em> “Kick him?” </em>
</p><p>“Yeah well how else am I gonna move this fat piece of klunk without getting shocked like you did?” </p><p>Minho ended up using his boots to ease the convulsing man into the room, Brenda helping to move him out the way of the door as they slammed it shut, concealing themselves from the horrors of outside. </p><p>This was the point that Newt’s screams had started through his earpiece.</p><p>Minho tore off his helmet and threw it to the floor, ripping out the earpiece with vehemence. The way Newt had yelled at them to stop and yelled out to Thomas honestly shattered his heart. That was his best friend, and WICKED were just discarding him in an isolation room like he was nothing.</p><p>A sudden force against Minho’s chest knocked him backwards into the wall with a loud thump, knocking the air from his lungs.</p><p>“Who are you? What do you want?” the boy demanded, pressing his forearm against Minho’s chest in restraint.</p><p>It was only then that Minho took a proper look around this room. There were bunk beds lining the walls and about eight boys watching him and Brenda with both curiosity and anger in their eyes. One boy went to touch the guard who was still convulsing with electricity, but Brenda slapped his hand away.</p><p>“We’re here to save your asses,” said Minho. “But you don’t have to thank us. We just risked our lives for you slintheads.”</p><p>“What he means is we’re taking you to safety. Away from WICKED,” Brenda explained in a much gentler tone than Minho. “At least, we were meant to be.”</p><p>The boy holding Minho against the wall took a step back, nodding once in what might have been an apology. Minho could have easily broken out of that hold; that boy didn’t seem strong at all, in fact, none of these boys did. He wondered if WICKED underfed them or if they were all naturally this scrawny.</p><p>“Meant to be?” one of them asked. “What changed?”</p><p>Brenda sighed, running a hand through her mass of dark hair, “Two of our team members got caught. WICKED have them as well as some of our other friends they stole from us.”</p><p>“Damn, that sucks. I’m sorry, dude.”</p><p>Minho slid down the wall, allowing Brenda to play nice guy with these shanks while he sorted out his head. He dared to put his earpiece back in place, but could only hear silence. WICKED must have either knocked Newt out or taken the radio off him; there was no way they’d let him keep it.</p><p>He debated the idea of sneaking out to go to the isolation rooms, wherever they were, where he might have a chance of getting Newt out of there despite all the guards… okay, maybe not. No sneaking out. He would just be taken captive, too, if he did that.</p><p>The radio channel was now wide open for receiving messages, which made Minho wonder why nobody had been in touch to see what was going to happen next. He tried not to think the worst, but Vince would surely have said something by now, so what if… okay, no. Head in the room.</p><p>“Mind if I join you?” a fair haired boy asked as he approached.</p><p>Minho gave a languid wave of his hand, signalling for the boy to sit beside him, “Sure.”</p><p>“I’m Finn, by the way.”</p><p>“Minho.”</p><p>There was a pause and Minho could feel the boy’s gaze on the side of his face, but didn’t turn his head to look him in the eye. He wasn’t in the mood to be making friends when he’d just had to listen to his best friend’s screams for WICKED to let him go. That sound might be forever scorched in his mind.</p><p>“It sucks about your mates,” said Finn. “But, uh… what about the rest? Have they been captured, too?”</p><p>“Shuck, I hope not. There’s just complete radio silence. I don’t know what we’re going to do.”</p><p>“Hey, I’m sure everything’s going to work out in the end. You’ll pull through and fight for this, I can tell. Just don’t give up, yeah?”</p><p>Minho looked at him then and really saw just how beaten down this boy really looked. But there was hope in his eyes — hope that Minho had sparked just by coming in here and telling him that there were people out there who wanted to help. People who wanted to get them out of here.</p><p>“Thanks, Finn. You’re a good kid, you know that?”</p><p>Finn laughed, knocking his shoulder against Minho’s, “We’re like the same age, don’t call me kid!”</p><p>“Not in memory years, though. When did you go into the Maze? A few months ago? Yeah, I have almost three years of memories, buddy, so that basically means you’re a baby!”</p><p>“Huh? You were in the Maze, too?” asked Finn.</p><p>“Indeed I was. The first Trials they did. I was in there for two years.” There was a comfortable silence between the two boys as Finn absorbed this information, but Minho once again became distracted by the ominous silence of his radio, holding it in his hands as if it held the secrets of the universe. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, but anything would have sufficed at this point — just to know that someone was still out out there; still fighting this battle.</p><p>“Hey, Brenda?” Minho called to the girl who was chatting to some poor guy who probably couldn’t believe his luck. “Get your skinny butt over here.”</p><p>“Don’t insult my butt,” Brenda said when she approached. “Shank.”</p><p>Minho snorted at how foreign the word sounded coming from the girls mouth at a feeble attempt at retaliation, “What are we going to do, Brenda? We can’t can’t stay here forever. Soon enough, someone will come wondering where poor Billy the guard has got to or come in to check on these shanks, and we cannot be caught in that way, good that?”</p><p>“Well, no one’s on the channel,” she sighed and slid down the wall to sit beside Minho, offering a small smile in greeting towards Finn. </p><p>“Well, what if they’re all waiting for someone else to radio in?” asked Finn. “If nobody replies after you make yourself known, then you have your answer, right?”</p><p>After agreeing that the boy did, indeed, have a point, Brenda sent out a message succinctly stating their location and asking if anyone copied. But it didn’t take long for what little hope Minho had to completely diminish when there wasn’t a response from a single person. </p><p>“Maybe we’re on the wrong channel?” Brenda asked quietly.</p><p>“What, both of us? I don’t think so, shuckface.”</p><p>He could understand Newt and Thomas not responding, but what about Aris and Julia? Or Vince and those other Right Arm leaders. Surely the woman they left on the Berg, Nella, would have responded, too? So where the hell were they?</p><p>“You want to know what I think?” asked Minho.</p><p>“Not really—”</p><p>“I think they’ve all been caught. There’s no other explanation,” he continued.</p><p>But Brenda just rolled her eyes, “Always the optimist, you are.”</p><p>“I’m being <em> realistic </em>is what I am, slinthead.”</p><p>Minho finally got to his feet, pacing the length of the room, the boys who’d been listening in parting to let him through. He needed to take a step back; he couldn’t release his misdirected anger at Brenda or Finn or any of these other fellas. That wasn’t fair. But he couldn’t sit back and take this on his chest — he and Brenda were practically dead men walking if all the others had already been caught, and there was only a matter of time.</p><p>“We can help,” Finn said, stopping Minho from his pacing by grabbing hold of his elbow. “All of us will help fight with you, okay? We want out of here as well, remember.”</p><p>“Yeah, what can we do to help? You have a key card from that guard, right? That’ll get you in or out of anywhere,” one of the older boys said.</p><p>Soon enough, a battle plan was being established and ideas were being bounced around the room so quickly and desperately that it made his head spin. These boys were a whirlwind of ambition and it was contagious.</p><p>“So we’ll use the key card to leave this room and the Launchers to—”</p><p>“Minho.”</p><p>“—defend ourselves against anyone that tries to stop us. Because there’s bound to be—”</p><p>“Minho.”</p><p>“—someone who sees nine boys and a girl running around unsupervised, right?”</p><p>“MINHO!”</p><p>“WHAT?”</p><p>But the word died on the tip of his tongue when he spun around to look at Brenda and was faced by the sight of three WICKED guards standing in the doorway. And these were clearly the real deal.</p><p>Minho let out a defeated snort of laughter and wasted no time in approaching the guard in the middle, arms outstretched as if daring him to shoot, but the guard didn’t move a muscle. He stopped inches from his face, an angry snarl curling his lips. “What have you done to them?” he hissed. “Huh? Gonna do the same to me, are you?”</p><p>“Minho, stop,” snapped Brenda, jerking his arm backwards hard enough to cause him to take a few steps away from the guards.</p><p>“Listen to the girl,” the guard said. “This is inevitable, I’m afraid.”</p><p>“Inevitable? Yeah, so’s this,” Finn said a split second before propelling the side of one of their Launchers into the man’s head, sending him crashing against the doorframe and sprawling in a tangle of limbs to the floor.</p><p>One of the other guards was on Finn in an instant, holding him up against the wall with such force that the boy’s head collided forcefully with it. “That’s your second warning now and you know exactly what happens if you get one more of those,” the guard hissed through a spray of spit. </p><p>This seemed to be enough to stop the boy from struggling beneath his grip, and Minho didn’t even want to imagine what could possibly happen after that third ‘warning’. But the man who Finn had hit with the Launcher was now back on his feet, rubbing at the sore spot on his head. The sight made Minho smirk a little until the man grabbed Brenda by the wrist, pulling her in front of him with a gun pointed to her head. And it wasn’t just a Launcher this time. </p><p>“Comply, or I’ll feel no remorse in shooting her,” the guard said. “She may be Immune but she’s ungone no Trials. Worthless to us. Traitor <em> scum </em>.”</p><p>Brenda’s eyes were a blazing fire boring into Minho’s skull and it was her complete look of helplessness that finally did it for him. So he threw his weapons and radio to the floor and held his hands in the air, walking himself out of the room. </p><p>“Don’t give up!” came Finn’s voice. “You can’t let them get away with this, Minho. Keep fighting—”</p><p>The metal door was slammed closed, silencing Finn’s voice. He wished he could say something, <em> anything </em> to this boy who had risked his own life to save his, even in that one stupid action. Because whoever even considered doing that deserved at least a thank you, but Minho couldn’t even give him that. </p><p>“Where are you taking her?” Minho asked when Brenda was escorted in the opposite direction down the hallway.</p><p>“The isolation rooms,” came the short response.</p><p>“And me?” he asked. “What’s going on?”</p><p>“We’re going to run some tests, Minho. And you have no choice but to comply. Thanks for tipping us off on your location, by the way. We could have guessed but you made it a lot easier.”</p><p>Minho gave a feeble jerk of his body in a helpless attempt to get the guard to release his almost painful grasp, “What are you talking about, slinthead?”</p><p>“The radio, of course. Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”</p><p>Of course. Those shuck radios. How could they have been so goddamn <em> stupid? </em> Of course WICKED had been listening in on their channel to fish them out one by one, <em> of course they had. </em></p><p>And so Minho was submitted to the tortures of WICKED with the echo of his best friend’s screams and his new friend’s calls to keep fighting playing over and over in his head.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0034"><h2>34. thirty four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Two new POV's in this chapter: Julia and Ash.<br/>;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>JULIA:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Julia’s earpiece crackled with Brenda’s message and she instantly reached out to respond and to say that she was here; that she hadn’t been captured, but Ash immediately slapped her hand away from the radio. “Julia, don’t,” she said. “WICKED might be listening if they took your friend’s radio which I’ll bet is highly likely. Brenda might be about to get herself into a lot of trouble.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia looked up at her friend and nodded, wondering why she hadn’t thought of that herself. But then, Ash was always the smart one. She was the reason that most of them had got out of that Maze alive. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right,” Julia said, falling backwards onto one of the beds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her thoughts once again slipped back to the currently unknown status of her friends. The fact that nobody else was responding to Brenda’s message meant that they’d either all been captured or were as smart as Ash had been to suggest keeping quiet. Either way, she was stuck here. And it was probably better to assume the worst so that anything better would feel like a miracle. At least that was Julia’s logic, anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was so strange to think that she’d last been in here a matter of days ago before being taken to the Safe Haven; so much had changed since then, but now here she was, right back where she’d started. Things really had come full circle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So where did you go?” Jane asked, the unofficial, unelected leader of their group. “What happened to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was taken away because my mother asked Ava Paige to get me out,” said Julia. “They work together, you see. I ended up in what they call a Safe Haven, met Aris and the people I came here with. God, I can’t bear to think about what they’re going through right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been hard enough hearing Newt’s screams on the radio, but the silence from the others was almost just as torturous. Well, except for Brenda who was with Minho, but they were probably being captured right this very second. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You should do what Aris said,” Ash suggested. “Lie low. And that means blending in for the moment, until we figured out what to do. You can take that awful uniform off for starters.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll get you some new clothes,” said Daisy who ran off into the dingy bathroom to receive some fresh clothes from the hamper.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>WICKED didn’t exactly treat them well, but at least they kept up their hygiene enough for them to stay sane </span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> Julia supposed that none of the doctors or scientists would want anything to do with them if they all stank.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Daisy,”Julia said as she took the clothes from Daisy’s arms.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Daisy was the youngest of them all, just thirteen years old, and had really struggled in the transition between escaping the Maze and undergoing all the simulations WICKED put them through. At first it had been harsh testing with a lot of blood samples being taken alongside the enzyme they extracted from their brains. But when WICKED could see that they were wearing them all down almost to collapse, they adjusted their methods to a more ‘sustainable’ way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia could tell that all of these girls had completed their testing for the day, as there was evidence of the head device that collected the enzyme remaining indented on the skin around their hairlines. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dinner will come within an hour,” said Jane, addressing the whole room this time. “We’ll all have to give Julia a small portion of our meals. We can’t have her starving to death while we work out what to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What </span>
  <em>
    <span>are </span>
  </em>
  <span>we going to do?” asked Phillipa from the bed opposite Julia.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia sighed, “Honestly? I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tomorrow they’ll be testing us all like usual unless your friends put a stop to that,” Ash said as she shook her blonde hair out from her ponytail. “But we should expect usual routine. Julia could hide in the bathroom when the guards come to get us, but you’ll have to be careful when they bring us back. They might not notice one extra girl in the room, especially as you’re dressed properly now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But if they’ve seen her before then they’ll know she hasn’t been here for a few days,” Jane added. “So just… hide, I guess. That’s your best bet at not getting caught. Unless your friends told them you were here, of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They wouldn’t do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mention of her friends brought so many unpleasant images into her head; they would probably all be put through the agony of the simulations and blood tests and more tests…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried to work out exactly who was where right now: Thomas was most likely in the testing rooms, and she knew for sure that Newt was in the isolation room because of what Janson had said. Aris would be in the testing rooms if he’d been caught which seemed likely at this point. Minho would be in the same position, but Brenda… she was Immune but hadn’t been put through the Trials so she must have been taken to the isolation rooms along with Vince, Mary, Rafael and Nella if they’d all been caught as well. That seemed to be a place to dump people of no direct use and it made Julia feel sick to the stomach. But there was so much she didn’t know that it made her irritable and frustrated with the world… more than she was already, anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I missed you, but I wish you weren’t here,” Ash said, wrapping her arms around Julia and kissing her cheek again. “You should have stayed in your Safe Haven where you’d be </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe, but I couldn’t not help to rescue you girls. I will get you all out eventually and that’s a promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now, now, don’t go making promises you can’t keep. You’re just as stuck here as the rest of us,” Jane called out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia sighed and subtly rolled her eyes so only Ash would be able to see just how much Jane sometimes got on her nerves, “Maybe. But I have people here who can try and I’m not giving up on them just yet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was also a promise. To never give up on these people who had welcomed her into their home with open arms when her whole life had been turned upside down. She owed that to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>ASH:</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Twenty four hours passed, having been like any other day except that Julia was back and was lying low while everyday life continued as usual. Ash had hoped that because these new Immunes had been brought in, her own testing regime might have been scrapped. But, alas, no such luck. So when she came to sit down beside Julia who’d been sitting with her back to the wall and knees tucked under her chin for the last few minutes, she felt exhausted both mentally and emotionally. Getting her best friend back was like receiving a hug and a punch to the face simultaneously, or what Ash thought that must feel like, anyway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is everything okay?” Ash asked as she mimicked the girl’s position against the wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everything’s fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ash didn’t want to push her but she could tell that Julia was giving herself a hard time about everything that had happened. She’d explained about her rescue plan and about what the others were supposed to have done, but all of that had gone out the window now. Julia was the kind of person who could run with anything that was thrown at her, but this… this was different. The light behind her eyes had diminished shortly after she’d come to terms with that fact that Aris wasn’t responding and the others were probably in WICKED’s clutches. It was like someone had flipped a switch inside her and it broke Ash’s heart to see her like that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Julia sighed, resting her head against Ash’s shoulder, “Actually, scrap that. I’m not </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I guess. Being back here, seeing you all go through that… and knowing that my friends are probably going through it, too, it’s too much. I can’t just sit here and do nothing while the rest of you get hurt,” said Julia.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe you don’t have to,” said Ash. “You said that your people have connections, right? Well maybe you could sneak into one of the offices and send out a message to them or something.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Julia shook her head, “I know nothing about computers or how to do any of that. And going out there is such a huge risk, because I’m the last one who hasn’t been caught. WICKED don’t even know I’m here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ash had to admit that Julia was right </span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> her safety might be paramount in getting her friends out of here, and hopefully the rest of them, too. So that was why Ash felt no fear or regret in saying the next idea that sprang to her mind:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Unless I go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia lifted her head, eyes darting across Ash’s face as if trying to read her expression, but there was nothing to read; Ash knew she could get out of that door using the key card in the guard’s uniform, wearing said uniform and finding a computer to type out a message to these PFC people Julia had spoken about. They all called her the clever one, but what use was her brain if she didn’t put it to good use?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Ash,” Julia sighed. “What if you’re caught?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Better me than you. And what are they going to do? Give me a warning like they’ve always threatened to?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you’d be okay with doing this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia looked so shaken up yet so hopeful that Ash pulled the girl into a tight embrace, “Of course. If it means getting out your friends and the rest of us.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Ash,” Julia murured. “Thank you. You know I love you, right?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you know I love you too, Ju. But come on, let’s convince Jane that this is worth it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d thought that Jane or one of the other girls might have put up a fight or made us a fuss about the idea of her doing this, but there wasn’t a single person who tried to convince her otherwise. Ash supposed that all of them were just so worn down after around two months of this awful testing WICKED were doing, plus the four months previous that they’d spent in the Maze. It was no wonder that Jane would allow such a risk if it could have such exceeding results.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Ash explained about the key card and the uniform, everything that had sprung to mind so quickly, but it was the computer and technology side that she wasn’t entirely sure on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if there’s a password?” asked Phillipa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then I’ll either work it out or find a way around it,” Ash said eventually. “A password has to be easy to remember for the person, or complex enough that they need to write it down. And maybe I’ll get lucky and the thing’s unlocked.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what about finding out how to send a message to the PFC?” asked Clarise. “It’s not like any of us have had any contact with a computer in the last six months.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I remember things about it. Like… instinct, I guess. I’ll just see what I can do,” said Ash. “But I should probably wait until night, when nobody will be working </span>
  <em>
    <span>for certain</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The others all seemed to agree, and so timings were worked out about time differences and flight times. They worked out that the PFC base was four hours ahead of their time here in Alaska, and around a seven hour flight. If Ash sent the message at two a.m. it would be their six a.m. Then, allowing the PFC to actually read their message, it would take them around seven hours to fly here, meaning that they get here at around ten or eleven a.m. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because most of them would be in testing at that point in the day, Julia had promised to be on the radio channel Ash would determine on the message for when the PFC came in range. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ash set her watch to wake her up at two a.m so she could send out this message with limited threat of being caught. She just hoped that the people of WICKED had a normal sleep schedule and didn’t expect anyone to be sneaking around at that hour. She’d take the Launcher just in case.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The others all remained asleep when Ash’s watch started beeping. She spent a while trying to work out how to put on the belt which was made for someone almost double her size, but it didn’t really matter anyway; this was just a costume for if anyone else happened to be wandering around. She tucked the Launcher under her arm and before she could change her mind, Ash had slid the card through the reader, the green light shining as the door clicked open. She made sure to return it safely to the top pocket of the jacket; that was her way back in again. It took a moment for her to orientate herself, using the torch to light up the darkened corridor but feeling immediately out of her depth without a guard by her side to escort her around this seemingly huge building. But she shone the light at their door placard, swearing to remember the number B-27 so she didn’t get completely lost. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ash wandered down the corridor, careful to hold herself in a way that she’d seen other guards do, in case anyone sprung up out of nowhere, but there was nobody in sight. Apparently the whole of WICKED were asleep.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She tried the handle of one of the doors and it yielded, opening to reveal a small office space with shelves of books and paperwork and… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A computer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ash slipped inside the room and locked the door, closing the blind that hung above the small window. She didn’t dare flick on a light in case anyone saw the glow under the door, but she headed straight for the computer, it’s dull light seeming too bright in the darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, come on,” she murmured as the technology booted up with the press of a button, before opening out onto a lockscreen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So it </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> require a password.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ash tried the first thing she could think to try, which was ‘password’ itself, both with a lowercase and uppercase ‘P’, to no avail. She used the light of the computer to cast her eye over the desk itself, looking for any pieces of paper which may give her the word she needed to log in, but there was nothing of significant value. Next she searched the single drawer by the desk using the torch, but it was organised so neatly into piles of papers and different stationary items, that any stray pieces of paper would have been hard to miss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ash sighed, leaning back in the chair with her hands laced behind her head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was going to require a bit more thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took a look at the name on the computer </span>
  <span>— </span>
  <span>Alicia McCarthy </span>
  <span>— </span>
  <span>and allowed herself to look through this woman’s personal belongings. Ash learned that she had two children, used to have a dog called Rufus, and loves to read old fiction books. She didn’t recognise most of the titles on the shelves when she wandered over there, but then the Swipe would have probably seen to that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Most of the books looked old and well read, but none more so than the one which sat slightly out of place on the shelf which Ash pulled out to take a better look at, shining the light over the cover. It was called ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’ and depicted a white rabbit wearing a waistcoat. Ash brought the book over to the computer and started typing combinations that could be a potential password. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The title itself hadn’t worked and neither had the authors name or other variations with numbers, but it was a shortened version of the title: ‘Aliceinwonderland’ which had finally granted her access. Ash could have cheered in delight, but immediately got to work in looking for a way to contact the PFC via some sort of message.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A single application named ‘Netblock’ sat in the hotbar of the screen and with a single click, Ash knew she’d hit the jackpot. A range of different contacts lay in the inbox, but Ash looked to search for this PFC they desperately needed contact with. It wasn’t hard to find, and Ash was instantly transported onto a page where just a tap of ‘send’ would have her message sent off to the recipient in an instant.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect,” Ash murmured as she quickly got to work.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>To whom this concerns in the PFC,</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>This is not a message from Alicia McCarthy, just to make that clear, but is from one of the Immunes WICKED are holding captive. We need your help. Some of the people you have connections with have been captured after their rescue mission failed. Not all of them were caught. Julia has been hiding and they don’t know she’s here. Well, they might know if they read this message so you’d better hurry up and get us out of here. Julia estimates there to be seven  Immunes from the original Trials being tested on: five in the isolation rooms, ten girls on floor four and eight boys on floor three. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please help us. Contact the radio channel 17 when you’re in range and </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>do not</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> use channel 2 because WICKED will hear you.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Please hurry.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ash wasn’t sure how to sign it off, so she left it at that and hit send before quickly shutting down the computer. She grabbed the book and torch off the desk and righted the chair at the desk, careful to make sure she hadn’t left anything out of place. Alicia McCarthy certainly wouldn’t be happy to know that someone had hacked her computer as means of escape. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ash really hoped this worked out for them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But even if it somehow didn’t, at least she’d found herself a book to read. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0035"><h2>35. thirty five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warning for descriptions of a panic attack just at the start.<br/>Here we have a Newt POV and a Teresa POV and a little cliffhanger at the end ;)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>NEWT:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His chest was tightening; squeezing with every desperate wheeze of breath. He tried screaming but all that came out was a hopeless, choked sob. Newt’s forehead was beaded with sweat and his heart felt like it was racing at a hundred miles an hour.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He finally slid down the wall which had undoubtedly won the battle against his fists, his knuckles now bleeding and sore, body trembling violently. Images were flashing through his head of all the things WICKED could be doing to Thomas and to all of his friends. He had no doubts that the rest had been captured or would be soon enough. Just the thought of it somehow made his heart rate increase even more, his blood boiling beneath his skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He suddenly felt hot, too hot, like someone had upped the temperature of the blindingly white room. At some point, Newt had crawled under the icy stream of the shower in the corner and sat there, motionless, for what felt like hours. He rode out wave after wave of panic, unsure as to whether he was actually breathing. Water cascaded over his body, mixing with the salty tears now pouring from his eyes and the blood streaming from his knuckles. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Red hot anxiety ate at his insides; unrelenting, merciless, unforgiving. But he gave in to it, eventually. Because nobody was coming to help. Nobody cared that air wasn’t reaching his lungs. He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>disposable.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But he knew that despite all this, he probably had it the easiest compared to what his friends were going through. And that just about tipped him over the edge, his body finally giving way to the utter panic consuming his every nerve; his entire being. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt finally slipped into the bliss of unconsciousness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The white door opened when Newt was curled up in a tight ball in the corner of the room. His head jerked up at the sudden flood of noise and his heart followed suit, beginning to pound ruthlessly in his chest. He couldn’t be sure how long he’d been sitting in this position on the floor, but his leg was stiff and his whole body ached. Two men approached him and hauled him up to a standing position, completely careless of his bad leg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt hissed in pain, “Watch it you bloody slintheads. I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>injured.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To his surprise, the men actually gave him a minute to adjust his weight and carefully stretch out his leg, but there was very little he could do to ease the pain whilst being in this position. He had one guard clutching each arm, and he wondered why he alone required two armed men to escort him wherever it was they were going. It wasn’t like he had anything to attack them with or anywhere to run to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ready?” one of the men asked with a sigh.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt simply scowled at him, “Ready for what? Because unless you’re letting me leave with my friends, the answer is no.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two guards shared an eye roll but continued to give Newt’s arms a forceful tug so he’d start walking out the room with them. The corridor outside wasn’t white, and Newt hadn’t actually seen the outside of this room yet considering that he’d been knocked out on his way here. It was safe to say that the dinginess of the corridor was a pleasant change from the bright white of that isolation room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he’d only taken a few steps before his leg buckled and he almost fell to the floor if not for the two guards literally holding him up. Neither of them said a word, simply slowing their pace in order to allow Newt to limp along between them without completely collapsing with every other step. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going?” he asked. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When neither man responded, Newt suddenly jerked his body to the side in an attempt to get their attention and make them answer his question. If they weren’t going to cooperate, neither was he.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ll see,” one of them grunted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Newt simply stopped walking, causing pain to rip through his shoulders as the guards continued for a split second longer, taking his arms with them. Newt didn’t even care at this point. He wanted answers; he </span>
  <em>
    <span>deserved</span>
  </em>
  <span> answers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They couldn’t just put him in a room and then suddenly take him out without a reasonable explanation. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Tell me.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, kid, you don’t want to make this harder than it’s already going to be,” one of them said. “Just cooperate and you’ll find out soon enough.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Trepidation filled his gut at the man’s words—</span>
  <em>
    <span>harder than it’s already going to be. </span>
  </em>
  <span>What was going to happen to him? What were WICKED planning?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt noticed other doors down this corridor, unmarked but for a single bit of paper tacked to the wall, the handwriting so scrawled that it was impossible to read from this distance. He couldn’t help but wonder if the other non-Immunes had been put in the same room he had. Maybe they were behind these very doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guards must have noticed Newt looking with curiosity because their grip on his arms tightened as they practically dragged him down yet another corridor and into a lift. It seemed to be going up but Newt honestly couldn’t be sure; he felt so strangely disorientated. His head still felt so stuck in the monotony of that white room. But right now, he would definitely take the isolation room over whatever lay ahead in his near-future. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least tell me if my friends are okay,” he said. “What have you done to them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d be more worried about yourself right now, if I were you,” one of the men growled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s not what I bloody asked, is it? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Are my friends okay?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine. </span>
  </em>
  <span>More fine than you are, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that supposed to mean?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The men suddenly pushed Newt to the right, through an open door leading to some sort of laboratory room. A single chair sat in the center of the room, surrounded by metal tables filled with tubes and multiple different intimidating syringes and a woman sitting alone at a desk. It was only then that it hit him that maybe he was in a little more trouble than he’d accounted for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Careful,” he hissed as he was forced backwards into the chair, the back of his leg colliding with the edge as he was carelessly maneuvered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glared at both men as his wrists were quickly bound to either side of the chair like some sort of prisoner. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a prisoner, he supposed, but that didn’t add up with why he was in a laboratory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both guards left without another word, leaving him alone in this room with the woman who hadn’t spoken a word to him yet. Her back was turned to him, and Newt craned his neck to look over her shoulder and the various vials and liquids she was dealing with on the desk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s that?” he asked. “Can you please tell me what’s going on here?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman finally turned around to look at him, an unnatural smile on her face, “This is a new version of the cure we’ve been developing. It needs to be tested, and it appears that we have a bunch of non-Immunes right at our disposal. How convenient is that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” he hissed. “Testing? I’m not some lab rat, you know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the woman simply hummed in response, “If you don’t mind me asking some questions, I need to</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I’m not answering any of your bloody questions, thank you very much. I don’t consent to this. You can’t just test that thing on me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you think any of your other friends consented to their own testing?” the woman asked. “Did you consent to WICKED’s Maze and Scorch Trials? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Now, if you can just tell me when</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I said </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m not answering!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Newt yelled, “Are you bloody deaf or something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She raised her sharply drawn on eyebrows at him, “Okay. I can probably find it on your records somewhere, anyway. But because this is the first human test of this adaptation of the cure, we can’t know for sure what the effects might be. Obviously it could include death, brain damage, overall brain shutdown and the like…”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And the like? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She really wasn’t selling this cure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“NO! How many times do I need to bloody say it? Don’t you think you’ve put me through enough for this lifetime already?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Newt now knew that he needed to get out of here, or his life was over with a single syringe full of liquid. That woman wasn’t going to listen to a word he said; her mercilessness was sickening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He needed some sort of miracle right now. And fast.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>TERESA:</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment Teresa had heard that Newt was going to be given a version of the cure that WICKED had been developing, she’d snapped. She’d promised herself that none of her friends would die because of her actions, but this cure… it would kill Newt in a heartbeat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was designed to attack the cells that the virus had invaded, but it wasn’t fully developed yet meaning that all cells in the concentrated area would be destroyed. And because the brain is made of tissue which is made of cells… the entire brain would slowly be destroyed. But Teresa had seen all the test results on tissue in the laboratories and watched as every single version of it destroyed the cells. WICKED had it in their heads, somehow, that studying the effect on the brain might provide them with the answers they needed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teresa’s hope that she’d done the right thing was slowly diminishing. After talking with Aris, she wondered whether she’d made a terrible mistake; that she really was just as bad as those people who were going to kill Newt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So this was why, after summoning Thomas for what she’d told the guards was ‘important testing’, she locked the door behind the guards and untied the boy’s hands from the chair he’d been strapped to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teresa?” he asked. “What’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The iceiness on his gaze stopped her in her tracks, sending a shiver down her spine. Teresa had to do this not just for Newt, but for Thomas, too. Because she knew that if that boy died, it would break Thomas and he would never, </span>
  <em>
    <span>ever,</span>
  </em>
  <span> forgive her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s Newt,” she hissed. “They’ve got him on floor two, they’re going to test a cure on him, but it’ll kill him, Thomas. You have to save him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas’s face dropped with realisation, soon being replaced by pure anger and determination, “Okay. What room number? How long have I got?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C-09. And not long, you need to hurry,” Teresa said as she placed a handgun in Thomas’s hand.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t hesitate for a second; turning the lock and wrenching the door open before shooting the guards outside who had no idea what hit them before it did. Teresa stood in the doorway for a few seconds, watching Thomas pelt down the corridor at such a speed, before she dumped the two guard’s bodies in the laboratory room and locked the door behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This one action might save Newt for now, but there were no promises for the future. They had no way out and one gun, against hundreds of guards with hundreds of guns. They wouldn’t stand a chance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But if any of them died, their blood was on </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> hands.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0036"><h2>36. thirty six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>The girls had all been taken to the testing rooms, leaving Julia alone in the empty barracks with only Ash’s stolen book and the radio to keep her company. She read for a while after they’d gone but was starting to get restless as she waited for a response on the radio to prove that Ash’s message had been successful. Somehow, the girls had worked out that as soon as the PFC were in range, there would be a matter of minutes before they landed. Julia wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do in that short amount of time, but she hoped that they could delay their landing to buy her some time to do whatever they needed her to do for them to get them safely inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d got to the point in the book ‘Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland’ where Alice had drunk from the bottle only to find that she was now too small to reach the key which she’d left on the table. Julia didn’t understand the logic in eating or drinking anything labelled ‘eat me’ or ‘drink me’, but she supposed that Alice had been desperate, even in her dreams. (Julia wasn’t sure how she knew it was a dream because she was only a few pages in. Maybe Georgina had read it to her as a child?)</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yesterday, the guards hadn’t returned with her friends until just before noon, which was roughly how the schedule had fared for them all before Ava had got Julia out. So, knowing that no guards were about to come bursting in, Julia changed out of the soft cotton clothes and back into the itchy fabric of the guard’s uniform which Ash had laid out for her on her bed. This way she’d be ready for when the PFC finally came in range.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If </span>
  </em>
  <span>they came in range. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>If they came at all.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Julia had to admit that her hope was dwindling when it had slid past eleven a.m and there had still been nothing from them. She was starting to worry that the batteries would run out on the radio after being on for over an hour, and was considering turning it off for a few minutes to preserve it. But, suddenly, something other than static crackled out of the speaker and Julia immediately jumped to attention.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“...FC… do… opy?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Does… any… opy?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“This is the PFC, does anyone copy?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The last statement had come out loud and clear, filling the room with the glorious sound of the people who had come to save them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so Julia quickly raised the radio to her mouth, “This is Julia. I copy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“How are things on your end, Julia?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have a guard uniform on, a key card, a Launcher and a handgun,” Julia explained. “I’m ready for whatever you need me to do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Perfect. I need you to unlock the doors for us, do you think you can do that? The first floor has the controls for the doors, all you need to do is disable the external security. I can give you the passcode when you’re ready.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia quickly assembled the earpiece and connected it up to the radio, putting on the helmet, sliding the handgun into the belt and tucking the Launcher under her arm, “I’m on it. Give me a few minutes to get down there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She slid the key card through the reader and pushed the door open, heading straight for the stairwell which would take her directly down to the first floor. Her heart felt like it might beat straight out of her chest, and she took a few careful, reassuring breaths to calm herself down. She needed to get this right.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Room number?” she asked quietly.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“B-01.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia practically jogged down the rest of the stairwell and out into the corridor which was mostly deserted except for the occasional person in an office. It felt liberating to have this power completely unknown to WICKED. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“B-01,” Julia echoed as she stopped right outside the double doors leading to a room which was lined with computers and workpads…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>… and people.</span>
  </em>
</p><p><span>She quickly moved out of the way of the windows even though the three people inside had their backs to the doors.</span> <span>Julia didn’t do anything for a moment, weighing up her options: her persuasion skills were next to none, but she somehow knew that she wasn’t going to be a bad shot if she took </span><em><span>that</span></em><span> particular option…</span></p><p>
  <span>“I’m going in,” she told the radio before pushing open the huge metal double doors.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The three WICKED associates hardly had a second to register that an apparent guard had entered the room with a Launcher in their general direction before Julia shot a grenade into each of their chests in turn. They fell to the floor with a loud thump, Julia trying not to wince as electricity shot through their bodies, compromising their nervous systems. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She swiftly closed the doors behind her before stepping over the convulsing bodies, knowing from what Aris had told her that she had around five minutes before the electricity wore off. That would be enough time.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I’m in. What do I do?” she asked the radio.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“When you’re at one of the workpads, click onto the blue icon which has a white circle on it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia followed the instruction, finding said icon and clicking it so that the screen above the workpad flicked onto a new page, showing a series of lists. It appeared to control every security system individually: every keycard-controlled door on every floor.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Once you’re onto that, click onto ground floor level and press all. It’ll take you to another screen asking what you want to do with the system. Press disable all.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Again, Julia did as she was told before a passcode screen flashed up on screen, “What’s the passcode?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Two, eight, seven, eight, five, nine. And press ‘yes’ once you’ve entered it.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Done,” said Julia, taking a step away from the technology in front of her, slightly shocked at what she’d managed to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Good job. Now, I need you to look at the CCTV system. See if you can find any of your friends so we can make a quick escape. Keep doing that for as long as you can until I tell you we’re in.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“How long will that be?” asked Julia. “And how do I do that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The grey icon with the security camera. You can work your way around it pretty easily. Start with where you think they’re most likely to be. We’ll be around five minutes. Over and out, for now.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia felt very exposed sitting with her back to the door where anyone could shoot her from behind, so she kicked one of the convulsing bodies in front of the doors, muttering her apology as she did so. But, realistically, she couldn’t imagine he’d feel a thing with all that electricity coursing through his nerves.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luckily, she had some idea of where the girls were being tested on so she checked those rooms first. And she was right; there was Ash, clearly just becoming conscious from the simulation. It would be around five to ten minutes before she’d be escorted back into the barracks, which worked perfectly with the timing of the PFC. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Next, she flicked to floor three to look for the boys, finding that they, too, were just finishing up their morning testing. WICKED must have very similar routes for both the boys and the girls. It was slightly painful to watch as one of her close friends from the Maze, Finn, suddenly appeared on screen; she hadn’t seen him or any of the other boys in a while now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she said to herself. “Aris. Where are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She started on floor nine, going through the feeds quickly and only stopping if she saw any sort of motion. It was only guards and WICKED associates on the first two floors, but her heart leapt when she noticed a girl sitting in a chair on floor seven. She also looked as if she’d just come out of a simulation, and Julia squinted to work out who it was. It only took her a few seconds to recognise Sonya, making a mental note of the floor and room number to feed back to the PFC when they next radioed her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had only been a few minutes, so Julia started searching for the isolation rooms; the place where Janson had sent Newt and most likely all of the other non-Immunes. She found the isolation rooms on the ground floor, most empty except for four: Mary, Rafael, Vince and Brenda were either sitting or pacing the room. But where were Newt and Nella?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Julia double checked all of the feeds for the isolation rooms but couldn’t seem to find either of them anywhere which definitely didn’t add up. Newt was the one person that she thought was going to be in there for sure, but he obviously wasn’t. So where could he be?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Newt, where are you?” she muttered to herself as she flicked desperately through random feeds on the screen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until she noticed movement on the second floor corridor feed that she stopped flicking through and focused on one singular, small image. But as soon as the person had appeared, they had gone. Julia backed out, bringing up every security camera for the second floor, like a collage of different images.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She inhaled sharply as she followed the person from image to image, only getting a good look when they finally stopped running and turned around.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Thomas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0037"><h2>37. thirty seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here's 3.6K of action :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>NEWT:</p><p>The woman fell silent after telling Newt that this ‘cure’ would most likely kill him, and he began to look desperately around himself for any way to get out of these bonds as she fiddled around with the vial and syringe, but found nothing. The only thing that might possibly be of any use at all were his legs...</p><p>“Ready?” the woman asked with a sickening smile as she came to stand beside his chair. “I’m going to give you this sedative so it shouldn’t hurt too much, so no need to worry about that. I should thank you for everything your results are going to do to improve—”</p><p>She cut off when Newt suddenly forced his knee up and into her side, sending her sprawling backwards into the table of medical equipment behind her with a satisfying clatter. He wanted to give her a kick for good measure, just to prove that he wasn’t going down without a fight but she was too far out of reach. There was no way he was submitting to this fate that easily.</p><p>“Do I have to say it any louder?” Newt yelled. “Keep your bloody cure to yourself and let me go!”</p><p>“I’d listen to him if I were you.”</p><p>Newt’s head instantly snapped around to the door where the voice had emanated from, eyes ablaze with absolute fear. A gun was aimed not at him but at the woman lying on a heap on the floor, her syringe of sedative long forgotten in her hand. And behind the gun stood Thomas. </p><p>“Now I suggest you do as he says and let him go,” he said slowly, clicking off the safety (which definitely added to the threat, although Newt wasn’t sure Thomas would actually shoot her. Well, maybe not fatally, anyway.)</p><p>She did as she was told, slowly and carefully untying Newt’s hands whilst making it as clear as possible that she wasn’t about to reach for a weapon of her own and try anything funny. At least she was smart enough to do that. </p><p>“You know I’ll just call for Janson once you’re gone,” she said. “You won’t get very far at all.”</p><p>It was then that something caught Newt's eye, abandoned on the floor where the woman had collapsed and still ready to inject a sedative and knock out it’s victim in seconds. She certainly wouldn’t be calling for Janson anytime soon once Newt was finished with her.</p><p>“Yeah, don’t get too excited about that,” he said, swinging his legs over the side of the chair and lunging down to reach for the syringe. </p><p>In a matter of seconds, he had crossed the room and plunged the needle into the woman’s neck, letting her guide herself down to the floor as her eyes rolled back into her head. She was out cold in seconds.</p><p>Both boys were silent for a moment, Thomas’s gun still trained on the woman collapsed in a heap on the floor and Newt staring almost disbelievingly at his handiwork as if he wasn’t certain that what he’d done would last. </p><p>All it took was the sound of the safety clicking back on, and Newt was spinning around to face the boy who had saved his life. Who <em> kept </em> saving his life, against all odds. How Thomas managed to pull this off, he didn’t know. But what he did know was that he was here and he was okay and he was somehow armed and he had just <em> saved his life.  </em></p><p>“Hey,” Thomas said eventually, waving his gun in the air in welcome. </p><p>Just casually.</p><p>Newt managed a snort of laughter, “Careful with that thing, Tommy. We don’t need you blowing our bloody heads off.”</p><p>Thomas’s face broke into a huge grin, and before Newt could tell what was going on he was being pulled into a tight hug with strong arms wrapped securely around his waist as if that alone could shield him from all the horrors the world threw at them. He almost wished it could.</p><p>“What’s the plan?” asked Newt.</p><p>“Not a clue,” Thomas said. “I just had to get you out of here. How dare she try and do this to you? I did say they’d have me to answer to if they laid a finger on you, didn’t I?”</p><p>“And here you are.”</p><p>“Mhm. Missed you.”</p><p>There was a pause of silence where it became apparent that Thomas was about to move anytime soon, so Newt reluctantly pulled away and looked him in the eye. “We can’t stay here forever, Thomas, we should go,” he said.</p><p>Thomas nodded, reaching for Newt’s hand to pull him away from the woman collapsed on the floor, “We’ll find somewhere to hide and then work out the rest. At least I have a gun, right?”</p><p>And so the two boys walked quickly out of the doorway and into the corridor, running purely on Thomas’s impulsive decision making. (It had kept them alive this long, and look what good Vince’s plan did them.)</p><p>Except, as soon as Thomas rounded the next corner, he collided with a guard who also seemed to be running, and Newt wasn’t able to stop himself before he flew into Thomas’s back, almost knocking the three of them over. </p><p>Oh. Of course.</p><p>He’d got away from that testing room, but was now faced with a guard who would probably escort him straight back into that isolation room where he’d be back at square one. He should have known it was too good to be true.</p><p>Thomas quickly tried to reach for his handgun but the guard was on him in an instant, securing his hands to his sides.</p><p>“Stop,” the guard said, a female. “Thomas, it’s me. Just stop.”</p><p>Realisation flooded into Newt at the same time it did for Thomas. That voice; the reason it felt vaguely familiar, muffled by the helmet she was wearing…</p><p>
  <em> It was Julia. </em>
</p><p>When she was certain that Thomas wasn’t going to shoot her, she ripped off her helmet to prove that it was her, somehow still free despite everything that had happened.</p><p>“No way,” said Newt. “How are you—”</p><p>“Let’s just go. We need to move before anyone realises both of you are missing,” said Julia as she put the helmet back on. “How did you end up here anyway? Actually, hold on a second.”</p><p>Newt looked to Thomas in disbelief as Julia started talking into the earpiece he hadn’t realised she was wearing until now. </p><p>“Four are in the isolation rooms, ground floor, including Vince. I’m with Newt and Thomas… yes, we can meet him there,” Julia said, all the while gesturing for the boys to follow behind her as she strolled down the corridor as if they were actually meant to be here.</p><p>At some point, Thomas had taken Newt’s hand and now held onto him tightly. It wasn’t quite enough to make Newt forget that they could potentially be shot dead at any given moment, however, but maybe the fake guard in front of them might make any attacker think twice. He hoped so.</p><p>“We’re going to find Vince,” Julia explained. “The PFC has got in but we won’t have a lot of time before somebody notices that the guards outside are all lying on the floor with electricity flowing through them.”</p><p>“The PFC? You have some explaining to do,” said Thomas as they made their way down the nearest stairwell, to the ground floor.</p><p>“Yeah, well… we all do,” said Julia.</p><p>As they rounded yet another corner, Newt noticed a shadow at the other end, rapidly growing nearer and nearer. Thomas tugged him to the right into a small, dark alcove in front of a doorway, just as the person rounded the corner. Newt didn’t see whether it was another guard or not, but he and Thomas both knew that them being down here would definitely stir up some trouble. The door handle wouldn’t budge despite Thomas’s hopeless efforts so the two boys simply flattened themselves against the door, sides crushing together in order to fit. Newt hoped that Julia could turn the person away or shoot them if she couldn’t or <em> something </em>so they wouldn’t be caught. That girl clearly had a trick or two up her sleeve to have gotten this far without being captured by WICKED. They’d question her later, if they got out.</p><p>Laughter suddenly echoed from down the corridor—Julia’s laughter—and Newt instantly looked to Thomas with unspoken questions evident in his eyes. He thought he could vaguely hear a man’s voice, too, and a woman’s, but he couldn’t be certain. </p><p>All fell silent before two or three sets of footsteps started drawing nearer… and nearer… and nearer… and…</p><p>“There you are!” Julia said as she came to stand in front of their alcove. “It’s just Vince and Brenda. Sorry, I should have told you.”</p><p>Thomas waved a hand in the air in exasperation, “Are you kidding?”</p><p>“She’s not kidding,” said Vince as he stepped into place beside the girl. “Now come on, we have to go and save your friends. We don’t have much time.”</p><p>The boys didn’t need telling twice, following behind Vince in the direction they’d just come from and falling into step beside Brenda.</p><p>“Alright?” she asked them both.</p><p>“Never been better,” said Thomas, voice laden with sarcasm. “Almost two days of simulations have been such a treat.”</p><p>Newt frowned, having not heard this information until now, “Simulations?”</p><p>Thomas went to respond, but Vince had stopped at the edge of the staircase and was holding out a finger to silence them all and turning to Julia, “What floor are your mates on?”</p><p>“Floor seven,” Julia said.</p><p>“Then we’ll take the lift. It’ll be quicker and much safer,” Vince explained as he gestured for the four of them to follow behind him once more.</p><p>Newt looked at Julia who had now taken off the guard’s helmet, an unnecessary accessory now that she had four fugitives with her. He wondered how she knew all this information, and how she’d connected with the PFC. It seemed a lot for one person to manage by themself.</p><p>It took them less than a minute to arrive at the lift at their current walking speed, Vince jamming the ‘up’ button impatiently with his thumb. All of this still felt so surreal; Vince had been in the isolation rooms just as Newt had but now he was here, leading them back to their friends. It didn’t seem possible.</p><p>But Thomas was the one who blurted out his questions as soon as the lift doors slid closed, “Okay, what’s going on? Someone explain.”</p><p>“My friend Ash messaged the PFC to tell them that we needed help. She told them which radio channel to contact us on, a different one to the one we’d originally used because that one must have been compromised by WICKED. As soon as they were in range, I unlocked the doors for them and searched the CCTV for the rest of you. That’s when I saw Thomas running and went to find him. I just happened to find Newt with you, too. The PFC went straight to the isolation rooms to get out the four who were in there. Now we’re going to get our friends and get out of here,” Julia finished, just as the doors reopened.</p><p>It took Newt a second to shake himself back to attention as they all stepped out onto floor seven, all that information a lot to process at once. While he had been wasting away on the floor of that white room, Julia had been fighting back. She was the reason they finally had means of escape. </p><p>“Julia, you lead the way,” said Vince. “And put that helmet on. You can make sure the coast is clear for us to follow.”</p><p>Julia nodded before slipping the helmet back on, Launcher ready to fire if necessary tucked snuggly under one arm. Newt couldn't imagine that she’d been trained to shoot one of those, but it definitely didn’t look foreign in her hands. </p><p>She took the lead, the four of them trailing behind her, but Newt couldn’t help but wonder about what she’d said about the CCTV. If she’d seen so much so easily, surely anyone could be watching them here right now? </p><p>“How do we know we aren’t going to be watched?” Newt hissed, verbalising his concerns. “The CCTV?”</p><p>“Disabled,” came Julia’s response. “Don’t worry about it. Okay, all clear. Come on.”</p><p>They continued like this down every corridor and turning; Julia making sure that nobody was around, waiting if somebody was, and beckoning for them all to follow when it was clear. Eventually she stopped at a door which required a key card for entry and pulled out the one that had been in her uniform back on the Berg. So maybe <em> that </em>was how she’d got about so easily.</p><p>“They’re under the tightest security,” she explained. “All my friends are kept in the barracks, but this lot… they’re basically living in the testing rooms, I imagine.”</p><p>The light turned green and she pushed open the heavy metal door, leading to another, smaller, hallway which had a few rooms coming off of it. Someone appeared from the nearest room, making them all jump a mile, but Julia was quick to silence her with the shot of a grenade into her chest, the woman collapsing backwards into the room. She ushered the four of them into the room the woman was lying in, kicking the convulsing body inside and closing the door quickly behind them while remaining on the other side. Newt thought he heard commotion as soon as the door clicked shut, but he was distracted by the person lying in the chair in the middle of the room; his eyes were red rimmed as if he’d been crying and he wore the same marks on his forehead that Thomas did. </p><p>“Aris!” Thomas exclaimed, rushing over to the boy to quickly untie his hands. “You okay?”</p><p>“What are you guys doing here?” Aris asked. “Was that… Julia?”</p><p>“Yeah, we’ve come to get everyone out,” said Thomas as he finished his handiwork and allowed Aris to clamber out of the chair so quickly that Newt wanted to put out a hand to steady him. He didn’t look as if he’d been conscious for long.</p><p>“Julia helped the PFC get in. We have her to thank,” Vince explained, before turning to Newt and Thomas. “Oh and I wanted to ask you two boys: what were you <em> doing </em>when Julia found you? Newt was supposed to be in the isolation room, and Thomas…”</p><p>“I was supposed to be up here but Teresa called for me. She told me that Newt had been taken to be tested on and that it was going to kill him,” Thomas turned to Newt, “She saved you.”</p><p>“Teresa?” Aris asked, mouth hanging open slightly, “But she did this. This is all her fault. She’s the reason we’re <em> here. </em>”</p><p>Newt had come to perch on the edge of the chair, but Thomas was now pacing the room, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was unclear what Julia was doing out there, but no more shots had been fired so maybe she’d talked her way out of it. Brenda hadn’t said much since they’d had their brief reunion and she looked as worn down as Newt felt - those isolation rooms really took their toll, especially when all you had to keep you company was your own mind. Vince didn’t seem to have been affected by it too much, however, and was now standing guard by the door despite being utterly defenceless. </p><p>“Why would Teresa do that?” asked Aris.</p><p>Thomas threw his hands into the air, “I don’t know. Maybe she had a change of heart?”</p><p>“I don’t know about that,” Aris said, frowning. “She seemed pretty sure of what she was doing when she came and spoke to me.”</p><p>Newt raised his eyebrows, “You talked to Teresa?”</p><p>“Yeah, she—”</p><p>But Newt never got to hear his reply because that was the moment that the door flew open and Julia poked her unhelmeted head through, gesturing for them to follow her out. Whatever she’d done, she’d done it well.</p><p>Because when Newt stepped out of the room, the first thing he saw was his sister standing in the doorway of the room opposite, doctor at her feet and an empty syringe in her hand. </p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>JULIA:</p><p>
  <em> (Two minutes previous…) </em>
</p><p>The moment Julia had closed the door on her friends, a woman had stepped out from the room opposite after hearing the shot of the Launcher. </p><p>“What on earth is going on?” she demanded.</p><p>Julia cleared her throat, excuses whirring through her head at a hundred miles an hour until she picked the most realistic one, “Sorry, ma’am. This thing sometimes has a mind of its own. Can you tell me which room I might find subject B5? She’s to be escorted to Teresa downstairs.”</p><p>To Julia’s surprise, the woman rolled her eyes, “She’s in this one. What is that girl doing with them, anyway? This is the second she’s called for just this morning. I really do hope she’s making progress. After all, she was the one who got them all here in the first place. Anyway, she should be good to go.”</p><p>Sonya was lying in a chair in the middle of the room, tears streaming down her cheeks and eyes closed tight. She looked anything but ‘good to go’. It made Julia’s heart ache, seeing her friend in this way, and she wondered how tough WICKED were being with these particular simulations. The girls hadn’t said that they’d gotten more intense, but it made sense that they wouldn’t go easy on their original test subjects… <em> God </em>, she hated that word.</p><p>“Subject B5,” Julia said in an attempt to gain Sonya’s attention and hopefully her recognition. “You’ve been requested to come downstairs with me.”</p><p>Sonya’s eyes snapped open and she took a sharp inhale at the sound of Julia’s voice, enough for the girl to hear but luckily not enough to sound suspicious.</p><p>There was also a man in this room, sitting beside a desk and doing something with the enzyme he’d extracted, but he wasn’t paying Julia any attention at all. </p><p>The first doctor had moved to untie Sonya’s hands but Julia stepped in quickly, “Don’t bother yourself, ma’am. I can handle this one.”</p><p>“Of course,” the woman said, finally moving away from the girl.</p><p>When Julia approached Sonya, she slowly bent down to untie her hands and get close enough to whisper quietly into the girl’s ear, “It’s me, Julia. Use the sedative to knock them out.”</p><p>Sonya nodded, still not having said a word as her wrists were untied. But now, Julia stood back and sighed dramatically, “Just a moment, I’m being radioed. Do excuse me.”</p><p>Her hastily established plan was this: untie her friends' wrists and instruct them to knock out their doctors alone so that Julia could work on untying everyone in this corridor without creating any (at least, as little as possible) commotion.</p><p>Before either of the doctors could say anything, Julia had left the room and was moving onto the next as quickly as she could. She wondered how many times she could pull off that trick before any of these doctors questioned her authority. </p><p>The same had worked for Harriet, then for Frypan, then Gally. But Minho’s doctors must have heard some of the commotion from next door as one of them came barrelling into Julia just as she entered the room. </p><p>“Watch it,” she said with as much spite as she could muster.</p><p>“What’s going on?” the man asked. “Should we be worried?”</p><p>“There’s nothing to worry about,” Julia said, forcing the man back into the room as she entered.</p><p>But he frowned, looking her up and down, “Let me see your ID card.”</p><p>There was a moment’s pause before Minho seemed to upend a table with his foot, causing the man to spin around in surprise. That gave Julia enough time to aim the Launcher at the back of his head, the one place she’d overheard someone say not to shoot a person with one of these guns unless you wanted them dead. </p><p>“Untie him or I shoot,” she said to the woman who had remained silent in the corner of the room, nodding her head towards Minho who was grinning almost comically. “Do it.”</p><p>The woman complied, holding her hands high in the air before reaching to untie Minho’s wrists from the side of the chair. It felt like minutes had passed while she untied one, then moved around towards the other. </p><p>In hardly one single second, the woman had pulled out a gun and was pointing it at Julia, just before Minho connected his free fist with her jaw, sending her sprawling backwards onto the table. </p><p>“Think you’re so shuckin’ smart with all this technology,” Minho said, sneering as he spoke. “Pieces of klunk, the lot of you.”</p><p>Julia wasn’t sure where he’d got it from, but Minho had sunk a syringe into the woman’s arm, the one part of her body he could reach. She felt no remorse in knocking out the guy she had at gunpoint, slamming the side of the Launcher into his head with a sickening crunch. </p><p>She stepped over him to get to Minho to untie his wrist but the boy was laughing, “Tell me this is real. This isn’t a simulation, is it?”</p><p>“I hope not,” said Julia. “But even if it was, you’d get the hell out of here, right?”</p><p>“Of course! Let’s stop this shuck yapping and go!” Minho said as he bounded from the chair with too much enthusiasm for someone who’d just undergone a painful simulation. “You’d better have a plan, Greenie.”</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0038"><h2>38. thirty eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>ARIS:</p><p>It was safe to say that everyone filing into Aris’s testing room certainly hadn’t been expected when he’d woken up that morning from a restless night’s sleep. It was also apparent that this tiny testing room was anything but fit for a cohort of eleven fugitives who draped themselves over various pieces of furniture (and by furniture, we mean desk chairs and that torture weapon of a testing chair) and tried to make sense of the situation at hand. </p><p>Aris fidgited in one of the desk chairs as Vince caught everyone up with what some of them had missed, then Julia explained exactly what she’d done to help the PFC infiltrate the building and get them as far as they had which, in Aris’s opinion, was an impressive feat considering how badly things had gone with the initial rescue plan. The simple fact that Julia had been smart enough to lie low had saved them all.</p><p>But something felt off—the feeling that Aris could feel lingering somewhere in his brain and distorting his perception to some extent—and it was tangible in the room. The remnants of those terrible, terrible simulations hung silently but palpably in the air, combining almost paradoxically with the hope that had sparked in every one of them. As Aris looked around the room, mind wandering once again, he noticed two things about his friends: </p><p>The first being that those of them who’d experienced the simulations and isolation rooms alike had the same misty-eyed expressions as if they still weren’t certain that all of this was actually happening to them right now. Aris fell entirely under this category.</p><p>And the second thing was that Julia, Thomas and Newt seemed so much more awake than the rest. Maybe Thomas’s run in with Teresa and Newt’s near-death incident had broken the invisible barrier between reality and almost-reality and, of course, everything Julia had sorted out for them would have had the same effect on her.</p><p>There was a slight tremor in Aris’s hands, left over from his recent simulation which had been a particularly brutal one compared to the rest: he had needed to fight against his friends in order to escape the hoard of Cranks that they had become, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t kill them to save himself. But it left him feeling tense and unsteady in himself.</p><p>“So Mary, Rafael and Nella are with the PFC downstairs?” Thomas asked from his position beside Newt on the floor.</p><p>There was something about Vince’s face, however, which made Aris’s stomach drop, “Not exactly,” said Vince. “Mary and Rafael are with them and they’re okay, but… they found Nella dead on the Berg before they got captured.”</p><p>The silence that followed was so thick it could have been sliced with a knife; nobody had expected anyone to die by the cold-blooded hands of WICKED, at least not without proper purpose. Aris hadn’t known Nella well, but she had seemed like such a sweet, brave and caring person. This was such a waste.</p><p>Except, as it appeared, Vince really didn’t want to linger too long on the news that one of his Right Arm associates had been brutally killed because he was quick to change the subject, asking everyone if they had any questions about anything.</p><p>“I do,” said Julia. “How did you and Aris get captured? And who by?”</p><p>Ah. Time for him to deliver his ground-breaking news, it seems.</p><p>“It was Ava Paige,” he said with a sigh. “And it turns out she’s not on our side, after all. Her being ‘undercover’ here for the PFC was a lie. She was undercover there for WICKED.”</p><p>Thomas waved an exasperated hand in the air, almost hitting Newt in the face as he did so, “I knew it!” he shouted. “I knew she was shady from the moment I laid eyes on that slinthead!”</p><p>“Yeah, well, she’s not the only one we have to blame for all this,” said Gally, a huge scowl on his face. “If it wasn’t for Teresa, we wouldn’t have been taken.”</p><p>“If it wasn’t for Teresa, Newt would be dead,” Thomas said immediately.</p><p>And, Aris had to admit, he was incredibly conflicted on everything Teresa-related right now because, obviously, her betrayal was clearly going to outshine everything she does from here on in and it’s not like it was the first time she’s done something like this (what she’d done to Thomas by telling Ava of his plan wasn’t so dissimilar.) But he couldn’t shake the fact that WICKED had taken her memories to make her compliant, and probably done God knows what else in order to keep her under their wing.</p><p>“We have to remember that this is the same girl who betrayed us,” said Brenda. “And anyway, it doesn’t matter if she’s on their side or ours, or even both, because we’re leaving this place, and her, behind.”</p><p>But Thomas didn’t seem to agree, shaking his head with a frown on his face, “When we got out of the Scorch and I was taken to my Phase three, I heard two telepathic messages,” Thomas said quietly. “One of which was from you, Brenda, telling me that things are about to get bad for me. And the other was from Teresa, telling me that WICKED is good. I don’t know how deep Teresa’s roots are to WICKED, Aris, but yours clearly aren’t as ingrained as hers are. Your tattoo says ‘The Partner’ and hers says ‘The Betrayer’. I tried not to think about it too much, but what if WICKED knew that after everything, Teresa would come running back to them and Aris would stay loyal and a trustworthy partner?”</p><p>“Tommy, what’s your point?” Newt asked.</p><p>Thomas sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, “That maybe WICKED worked it out. They know how we’re going to react and act because they’ve studied us like rats, watching our behaviour. The fact that Teresa betrayed us wasn’t surprising to them, which is why they trust her. But she broke that trust by letting me go and stop Newt from being killed.”</p><p>Thomas had a very roundabout way of getting to the point, which Aris still wasn’t sure he’d actually got to, but he had to admit that there was a point in there somewhere, and it was a good one. The fact that Teresa showed this vulnerable side, that she couldn’t see her friends be killed, proved that she wasn’t a complete monster like the rest of these WICKED folk are. But Aris couldn’t help but wonder if Thomas would still believe in his side of the argument if he’d known what Teresa had done to him, even without WICKED’s influence, though he would never tell him as much.</p><p>“We can’t take her with us,” Gally said eventually. “Who knows what that shuck face is really thinking? If she turns against us again, then who knows what will happen to us?”</p><p>To Aris’s surprise, Vince was nodding, “I agree, we can’t take that risk. But come on, we really need to start planning our way out. The PFC could radio at any moment and we still don’t know where we’re all going. So we’re going to need someone to go to the female Immunes, I can go to the boys, then the rest of you need to make your way down to where they told you about, Brenda. Never mind Teresa, we need to get ourselves out. That is the most important thing, you hear me?”</p><p>“I’ll go to the girls,” Julia offered quietly.</p><p>“Me too,” Aris said, because he was desperate for some sort of distraction for the fact that they really were about to leave Teresa behind, even though it was completely out of his control. </p><p>“Myself and Julia will take the two radios,” Vince explained. “So we can be in contact to make sure we get the Immunes out safely. The rest of you will just need to get downstairs to where the PFC are positioned. Some of them are in guard uniforms, positioned so they can make sure you get out okay.”</p><p>“How did they get the uniforms?” Minho asked.</p><p>“How do you think?” Vince said with a grimace. “Make sure you don’t trust any of the guards, because they may not be with the PFC, you can’t know for sure. Just… be careful, okay?”</p><p>There were still a couple of them who hadn’t spoken a word yet including Harriet, Sonya and Frypan, and so many of them were avoiding all eye contact whatsoever which made Aris wonder if they’d been through the same simulation as him because he was still having trouble shaking that image away himself. But for him personally, the initial haze had been lifted from his brain and it was like he was finally seeing everything in clear, vivid daylight. All of this suddenly felt so much more real.</p><p><em> “We’re ready on the ground floor,” </em> a voice came through both of the radios. <em> “Can everyone check in, over.” </em></p><p>
  <em> “First floor in position, over.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em> “Second floor is ready, over.” </em>
</p><p>This continued on each floor up to floor six, one below where Aris’s group were currently hiding out, when Vince brought the radio up to his mouth, finally looking up at everyone as he spoke.</p><p>“Seventh floor is ready. Let’s do this, people. Over and out.”</p><p>
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  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p>They made the quick decision for Vince to slip on one of the lab coats which the doctors had been wearing as they initialised the simulations, which meant that he wouldn’t look so out of place as he walked down to floor three to find the boys. Of course, Julia had the guard’s uniform on which would serve as an excellent disguise to get them down to floor four, using her power as a ‘guard’ to ‘escort’ Aris until they reached the girls. (The disguise wouldn’t work after that because, let’s face it, a whole cohort of girls fleeing the building will certainly look highly suspicious.)</p><p>“See you guys later!” Julia said as she slipped on her helmet and grabbed Aris by the arm before he could say anything, dragging him from the corridor and away from all the others.</p><p>It seemed that Julia really got into character with her role as a guard, her grip actually almost painful on his arm and when he squirmed slightly and hissed an ‘ow’ in pain, Julia loosened her grip and muttered an apology. </p><p>Vince was a few seconds behind them, heading down the same staircase but going one floor lower to where the boys were situated on floor three. Aris saw just a single guard lurking around the corner from the stairwell, possibly someone from the PFC making sure they were okay, but other than them the corridors were empty. A few of the offices down this corridor were occupied, but most remained dark and empty, void of any signs of life. </p><p>Aris and Julia eventually reached the familiar door leading to the girls dormitory but a single guard was standing in front of it and Julia instantly tensed up, her grip on Aris loosening as she clutched the Launcher tighter under one arm. The pair moved closer towards the guard and for a moment Aris thought that Julia was going to politely ask for entry (even though this was the girls’ room and he would probably have been dismissed instantly) but it seemed that she had other ideas. They were a few feet away when Julia completely released Aris’s arm and quickly shot a grenade into the guard’s leg, sending him sprawling backwards into the door and collapsing down onto the ground as electricity flooded through his nervous system.</p><p>“It means they’re all inside,” Julia explained. “A guard comes to stand out here when all the girls are back in from the testing rooms and are given lunch. We used to get given it in the cafeteria just down this corridor, but they tightened security when Finn tried to escape.”</p><p>By the time she’d finished her story, Julia had stepped over the convulsing guard and gained entry to the room, pushing the door open for Aris to step quickly inside. Almost instantly, someone flung themself on the pair, pulling them both into a tight hug, and Aris came to realise that this was the girl who had spoken to him first almost two days ago.</p><p>“I was getting so worried!” she said. “We came back and you were gone! Also, were you reading my book when you were in here by yourself?”</p><p>Julia laughed at her friend, “I was, and it’s good to see where your priorities lie!” She turned to Aris, “This is Ash, by the way. I’m not sure I introduced you before.”</p><p>“Oh, so you’re the one who sent out the message to the PFC?” Aris asked. “And you stopped Julia from radioing and being captured like two of our friends were? Smart thinking, by the way.”</p><p>Ash smiled sheepishly, “That was me. But hey, are we actually leaving here this time? Do you guys have a proper plan?”</p><p>“Hey, we had a proper plan last time!” Julia exclaimed. “It just got… compromised. Anyway, we need to go. Vince is getting the boys and we’re leaving here all together. Right now, actually.”</p><p>At Julia’s words, all ten of the girls came to stand, most with looks of determination on their faces. The girl who had seemed like their leader introduced herself as Jane and she made Aris promise they could trust his people. He understood Jane’s fear for her friends, and reassured them all that they would be going somewhere safe, where they would be protected. </p><p>He found it remarkable how these girls had been through those simulations every day for two months and were still standing; Aris felt weakened after less than two days. It just showed the strength they had, despite everything, to get back up and keep going.</p><p>“What are our defences?” asked Jane.</p><p>“I have this Launcher and this gun,” said Julia, holding out the Launcher for Aris to take and removing the handgun from her belt. “Plus we have that Launcher in here, don’t we? And the guard outside had another one, and possibly a gun as well. If Aris, Jane and Ash take a Launcher, I’ll take a gun and… Zoe, do you want to take the other gun off the guard?”</p><p>The girl, Zoe, nodded, “I can.”</p><p>“What about the rest of us?” asked a smaller girl, possibly the younger.</p><p>“The rest of you can walk in the middle of the group. Aris and Jane can lead, Ash and myself will follow at the back,” said Julia before anxiously checking her watch. “I’ll tell Vince we’re ready.”</p><p>As Julia turned on the radio and sent out a message to Vince, Ash reached out to one of the beds where a single book was lying and tucked it under her jumper, before she noticed Aris watching and brought a finger to her lips. He guessed that she’d stolen that book when she sent out the message to the PFC and honestly, he couldn’t blame her for doing so.</p><p><em> “We’re ready to go,” </em> Vince's voice came through the radio. <em> “Meet you all by the staircase we branched off from. Over and out.” </em></p><p>After a quick glance around the room, Julia unlocked the door yet again and searched the guards body with the toe of her trainer so she wouldn’t get shocked. When she’d found the gun she was looking for, she kicked it out of the guard’s belt and picked it up along with the Launcher. She passed the weapons behind her before kicking the guard into the room and gesturing for the rest of them to follow her out into the corridor once she’d checked that it was clear. </p><p>And then they were off, Aris taking the lead with Jane falling into step beside him. Julia had hung back to see everyone out with Ash by her side, scanning the corridor behind them to ensure that there would be no surprise attacks. </p><p>They were all running on pure adrenaline surging through their bodies as they moved quickly down these deserted corridors; reluctance would get them killed at this stage. He only stopped when he heard voices at the bottom of the stairwell they were quickly approaching, holding out an arm to stop Jane from moving any further forward and someone bumping into his back at his sudden halt. </p><p>“Who is that?” Jane hissed, but Aris held up a hand to silence her so he could listen properly.</p><p>Aris peered down the stairwell, noticing the three people gathered right in the place that they were supposed to be meeting Vince and the boys, “Guards. Three of them. I’ll take them out, just stay here and watch your backs. But please come and save me if I need it.”</p><p>Jane gave him the thumbs up before Aris started down the stairwell as quietly as he could, Launcher trained on the guards. Two of them had their backs to him, but another was now blocked by a wall. He knew he wouldn’t be able to shoot successfully from here, so he quickly scarpered around the wall once he’d got down onto floor three. They wouldn’t be able to see him whilst he was flattened against the wall here, but the girls fortunately still could. </p><p>These guards were armed with Launchers, so he’d only have a certain amount of shots after he’d made the first; he thought his aim was probably going to be good from this distance, but this would be the ultimate test of that. Aris readied his own Launcher before swinging around the corner and firing at the guard facing him, over the shoulders of the other two. Before the guard had the chance to notice him, however, electricity started coursing through his body and he slumped to the floor. Aris quickly returned to his position behind the wall before either of the other two guards could see him.</p><p>“Where did that come from?” one of them asked.</p><p>“I saw as much as you!” the other hissed, before raising his voice. “Hey! Who’s there?”</p><p>One set of footsteps began to slowly approach nearer to Aris, the guards clearly having separated to see where the shooter had emerged from. He knew it was only a matter of seconds, so he lunged again with speed he didn’t know he had, shooting the guard right in the chest just as a shot from his own Launcher streaked just inches from Aris’s head. The guard fell to the floor with a groan and a sickening crunch as his skull connected with the ground. </p><p>There was one left now, his footsteps quickly drawing nearer after his coworker had collapsed. Aris waited behind the wall, momentarily unsure whether he should quickly shoot or run while he still could. He no longer had the element of surprise. But, to his absolute shock, the guard suddenly crashed to the floor after the distinctive shot of a Launcher being fired. Aris dared to take a peak around the corner, his heart hammering in his chest as he aimed his weapon, fearing the worst but praying for the best. </p><p>Vince was barrelling down the corridor with the boys in tow, his Launcher still aimed on the space where the guard had just been standing. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0039"><h2>39. thirty nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>You don't have to understand all the biology terms at the beginning - I just couldn't help but put it in!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>TERESA:</p><p>Ever since Teresa had told Thomas to go and save Newt, anxiety had been eating away at her insides. She’d heard nothing that could imply that the boys had been caught, or if Thomas had even got to Newt in time. If he was dead, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to live with herself. Because seeing Chuck die and Thomas breaking down over the boy he’d known for a matter of days had been bad enough, and Teresa didn’t even want to imagine how badly it would break him if Newt was killed. </p><p>Janson had noticed that something was wrong with Teresa. He’d stayed by her side in the laboratory room she’d returned to after she’d let Thomas go, as if he knew that she was reconsidering all her life choices. But still, they worked and they studied the cure and the enzyme and the blood samples. Teresa had to admit that she was losing hope; the blood samples had no traces of any antibodies specific to the virus because they simply hadn’t had to be produced due to the effect of the enzyme. There were no interferons released because their cells weren’t affected by the virus so had no need to produce an immune response.</p><p>The last option was the cytotoxic t-cells, combined with the enzyme. This is what they’d been testing on tissues in the lab, and had wanted to test on Newt. The problem was, the chemicals produced by the cytotoxic cells were also killing the healthy cells in the killzone, meaning that the brain tissue would be destroyed. The idea was that the cytotoxic cell would stimulate an immune response, producing memory cells so the virus would be destroyed if the person came in contact with it again. But none of it was working, and Teresa was out of ideas along with many of the scientists.</p><p>“This isn’t working,” she said to Janson. “I don’t think it’s going to work.”</p><p>Janson just shook his head, “We need to keep going. There’s an answer here somewhere.”</p><p>“But there isn’t, Janson. Look at the evidence. How many years have you spent trying to find a cure in all those different ways? And look what you’ve got out of that. Passive immunity. That’s more than you had sixteen years ago,” Teresa exclaimed, almost desperately.</p><p>She’d expected more of a response from Janson, but the man simply looked her right in the eye, “Teresa. I do hope you’re not letting attachment cloud your judgement. You know we can help with that, if you are.”</p><p>The threat was so subtle that she almost didn’t notice it; when she did, however, a blackness clouded her heart and anxiety slammed into her chest. He was talking about her chip. He was threatening to control her; to alter her mind.</p><p>“That won’t be necessary,” she said with a forced smile. “I’ll keep working.”</p><p>“Good,” said Janson, before slinking back off out of the room.</p><p>Teresa closed her eyes. This wasn’t the first threat, and it wouldn’t be the last. As long as her friends were here, they weren’t safe and neither was she. When Janson had reached out to her telepathically, he’d promised that her friends were going to give them what they needed to find an active cure. Now, Teresa wasn’t so sure that this was true. She felt used; betrayed, even though she was technically the one doing the betraying. </p><p>If they ever got out of this, Teresa knew her friends wouldn’t forgive her. </p><p>And she didn’t blame them one bit. </p><p>This was her fault, after all.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p>NEWT:</p><p>Their group set off just a couple of minutes after Vince, Aris and Julia had left them to go and find the Immunes, allowing extra time for if any of them needed it on their journey downstairs to retrieve the other Immunes. For the rest of them, however, they were simply following the directions the PFC had trusted Brenda with, leading them down to the ground floor to assemble in the atrium where they’d convened after their respective Phase Three Trials. </p><p>It felt strange for Newt, knowing that he was in the very building that he had spent the majority of his life, but he hardly recognised the place even though he knew the memories were buried somewhere deep beyond the Swipe, almost tangible but not quite. These corridors all looked so similar as they half-walked half-jogged through them, that Newt couldn’t imagine that he’d ever known his way around before the Trials were inflicted on them. The corridors were basically a Maze of their own, anyway. Except, in this version, they had WICKED associates and guards instead of Grievers and, at this point, Newt would probably have taken a Griever over one of these monsters. And that was definitely saying something.</p><p>They’d found two guns on all of the doctors and medics in the small corridor combined—nowhere near enough, but enough to provide a little more comfort than if they were entirely unarmed. So now, as they jogged their way down the deserted corridor, Brenda held one of the guns as she led the group, whilst Thomas held the other beside Newt as they brought up the rear. There was something about being able to see all of his friends right in front of him that made Newt feel a paradoxically strange sense of calm, despite the tense atmosphere, but he knew that they were still very much in the dark, though they were drawing ever closer to the light with every step.</p><p>With the corridor being void of anyone trying to prevent their escape, the group were able to quickly swing around the last corridor before they reached a stairwell, with nothing stopping them thus far. Except, Newt found himself slowing as he and Thomas reached the top of their winding staircase, his bad leg throbbing from the sudden burst of strenuous activity, internally cursing himself and his aching muscles.</p><p>He felt a hand on the small of his back and Thomas stopped beside him, “You good?” he asked.</p><p>“I’ll be fine,” said Newt. “Let’s just keep going.”</p><p>As it turned out, the few seconds that Newt had thought he would have just put between them and the rest of their friends were quickly caught up, as Brenda was intently watching someone at the end of the corridor down on floor five, clearly debating whether or not to shoot in case this was one of the people from the PFC who Vince had mentioned. They had their back to the group, so Brenda gave them all a thumbs up and continued to usher everyone down the rest of the steps, swinging around to the next flight of stairs.</p><p>Newt kept his eyes trained on the guard, and his heart almost stopped when they quickly turned around towards the stairwell, eyes landing on the back end of the group as they disappeared down to the next floor.</p><p>“Thomas!” Newt hissed, but the boy already had his gun trained on the guard, fingers ready to pull the trigger if required. </p><p>But almost as quickly as the guard had spun around, they had raised a hand in silent defense, waving the boys on with a single thumbs up for reassurance.</p><p>
  <em> Ah. So a PFC guard it is, then. </em>
</p><p>Thomas instantly lowered his gun, grabbing Newt’s hand and tugging him around the corner as they ran to catch up with the others, eternally grateful for their stroke of luck. This luck, however, clearly had no intention of holding out for them. Because the next thing they knew, there were loud footsteps echoing above them, from one of the floors in which no PFC guards had been situated. And there was more than just one person approaching.</p><p>By this point, the boys were only two floors away from their friends who had finally reached the ground floor, the distance so near yet so far as Newt peered over the railing in his haste. They were running faster than the people above them were, but that’s just about where their luck runs out.</p><p>Because in his haste to reach their friends, Newt tripped just as they were passing the first floor, his bad leg almost giving out if not for the arms which instantly reached for him, hauling him back upright from his journey towards the floor.</p><p>He hissed out a string of curses as he regained his balance, not daring to release his vice like grip on Thomas’s arm in case his leg decided to give out again. Luck was not on his side today, on the one day he desperately needed it to be.</p><p>“Alright?” Thomas whispered.</p><p>He took a hesitant, testing step forward before deeming it safe to conquer the final flight, giving Thomas a shaky nod in response as they continued, albeit a lot slower than before, down towards their friends who were anxiously awaiting their arrival. It felt somewhat reassuring to know that there were people from the PFC nearby if those footsteps had grown too close, but he didn’t definitely didn’t want to find out what that may have entailed if they’d needed their help.</p><p>Thomas’s arm remained securely around Newt’s waist, providing the much needed support as he limped his way into the sea of curious onlookers that were their friends. </p><p>“Everything okay?” Minho asked as the group continued on their trek to the atrium which was God-knows-where on this floor.</p><p>“Just the bloody leg,” Newt replied with a languid wave of his hand.</p><p>Except now, these corridors were starting to feel much more familiar and Newt could have sworn that they just passed the very place he and Thomas had been standing when he’d given him that note…</p><p>A single glance towards Thomas confirmed this theory, the boys face a strange combination of contemplation and pain. Newt still couldn’t believe he’d put that on him. He most certainly hadn’t been in his right mind, but he knew that the guilt would stay with him forever, no matter how hard Thomas tried to reassure him that it wasn’t really his fault.</p><p>“It’s just through here!” Brenda said as they approached some double doors at the end of the corridor. She opened them just a crack, the rest of them piling up behind her, still hyper-aware in case anyone came out behind them, but a sigh of relief from Brenda as she pushed the doors open fully proved that they’d made it. There were stacks of chairs on the outside of the room, and in the very middle stood Mary and Rafael along with two other people from the PFC who weren’t dressed in guards uniforms. The four of them jumped as the group entered, one of the women reaching for a gun before she realised who they were. But where were all the others? They were all supposed to meet here before heading out to Berg; that was the <em> plan. </em></p><p>“What’s going on?” asked Brenda. “Where’s Vince?”</p><p>They met in the middle, the second woman stuffing her hands in her pockets with a sigh, “He took them out to the Berg. It would have been riskier if we all left together.”</p><p>“Has something happened?” Thomas asked, but the look on all four of their faces told them that something clearly had.</p><p>A shiver shot down Newt’s spine as Mary spoke, “It’s Janson. He noticed that something was wrong and called for the guards to investigate. Vince thought they had more chance of getting out if they left immediately. He asked us to wait for you; to make sure everyone was together before we left.”</p><p>“Well, we’re all here now,” Brenda confirmed. </p><p>Except they weren’t. Not really. Because there was one person that Newt owed his life to, and they were about to leave her here like it meant nothing. They were about to leave Teresa like <em> she </em>meant nothing.</p><p>It didn’t exactly sit well with him, if he was honest.</p><p>Yes, they couldn’t ignore the fact that she had betrayed them, but she was still their <em> friend </em> and had <em> saved Newt’s life. </em> So they’d just leave her in the hands of WICKED? When did they become so <em> cold? </em></p><p>“We need to get Teresa,” he whispered to Thomas whilst the others were talking about the way out of this building. “We can’t leave her here, Tommy.”</p><p>Thomas nodded, leaning slightly closer to Newt as not to be overheard by the others, “I don’t know where she’d be so it might take a while to find her and I’m not sure how long the Berg will wait for us. But I agree, this isn’t sitting easy with me, either.”</p><p>Newt sighed because, yes, she could be anywhere in this maze of a building, and with Janson becoming suspicious they wouldn’t have a lot of time to find her<em> and </em> get themselves out. The chances of success seemed frightfully slim.</p><p>But before either boy could get in another word, the doors on the opposite side of the atrium creaked slowly open, everyone freezing on the spot and instinctively reaching for the few weapons they possessed. </p><p>Newt breathed in a sharp inhale of breath when the figure emerged from the doorway, holding a gun which was trained undeniably on their group.</p><p>Ava Paige.</p><p>The woman who had betrayed them.</p><p>Someone suddenly grabbed Newt from behind, wrenching his hands roughly behind his back when he turned to see that guards had swarmed in behind them seemingly at the same time Ava had entered. In a matter of seconds, all of them stood captive in the middle of the room, weapons torn from their grasp and scattered on the floor. </p><p>Ava remained a few meters from the doorway, gun still pointing in what looked like Thomas’s direction, “I must congratulate you on how far you got. I am surprised, truly, at the extent the PFC went to,” she said. “Unfortunately for you, it just wasn’t good enough.”</p><p>She smiled at them then, such a wicked, evil grin that it made Newt boil with rage. With a heart stopping click, Ava flicked the safety off her gun, every muscle in Newt’s body instantly tensing up, his heart in his throat.</p><p>“You won’t kill us,” Thomas said vehemently. “You need us.”</p><p>“No, she doesn’t,” someone said as they stepped into the room directly behind Ava.</p><p>Teresa’s face became clear as she stepped out of the shadow, connecting her gun with the back of Ava’s head.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, uh, that happened.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0040"><h2>40. forty</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Previously...</p><p>“You won’t kill us,” Thomas said vehemently. “You need us.”<br/>“No, she doesn’t,” someone said as they stepped into the room directly behind Ava.<br/>Teresa’s face became clear as she stepped out of the shadow, connecting her gun with the back of Ava’s head.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>TERESA:</p><p>“So if you even <em> think </em> about shooting them, then I’ll shoot you,” Teresa said, trying to keep the slight tremor from her voice.</p><p>She could tell that she’d caught Ava by surprise, considering how she’d instantly tensed up. But she wasn’t alone in her shock; Thomas and the others were all staring at her, mouths agape, having stopped struggling in the grasp of the guards who held their arms tightly behind their backs.</p><p>“Give me the gun,” Teresa demanded as she wedged the gun more forcefully into the back of Ava’s head.</p><p>All of the guards who held her friends were giving each other nervous glances, as if debating whether they could or should stop Teresa, though she was confident that she was in a good position here, using Ava as a shield in case they did decide to shoot at her. </p><p>Teresa extended an arm out with her palm facing upwards so Ava could easily place the gun in her hand; she definitely didn’t trust this woman after everything she’d done. To her absolute relief, however, Ava slowly lowered the gun from the direction of the group, placing it in Teresa’s open hand. She snatched it away quickly, turning the safety back on and tucking it into the pocket of her red jacket, all the while maintaining her hold on the gun at Ava’s head. Her threats were far from finished here and, if she was honest, she rather enjoyed the power she had over the room after so long of being tucked silently away under WICKED’s thumb.</p><p>“Now let them go,” said Teresa. “You don’t need them here anymore. You never needed them.”</p><p>A pause before Ava spoke calmly, <em> too calmly. </em>“No.”</p><p>Teresa tightened her hold on the gun, now using both hands to steady the slight tremor shuddering through her body, <em> “Let them go!” </em></p><p>“We still haven’t found a permanent cure—”</p><p>“There <em> is </em> no permanent cure!” Teresa yelled. “Don’t you get it? There isn’t one and there never will be! What you have is enough; the enzyme is enough.”</p><p>Silence descended upon the room. It felt like an eternity passed while Ava pondered Teresa’s sudden outburst, possibly longer. Because the facts were right there, staring them all in the face; WICKED were just too stubborn to admit defeat this time round.</p><p>“One person stays,” Ava said eventually. “That will be my only compromise.”</p><p>“I’ll stay,” Thomas said without hesitation, and Teresa’s gaze flicked across to look at him straining against the guard holding him back. “Let the others go, and I’ll stay.”</p><p>Newt’s head snapped towards the boy so quickly he almost headbutted his own guard, and so many unspoken words were exchanged between the two of them in just that single glance as Thomas wearily met Newt's eye. </p><p>Teresa shook her head with a sigh, “This isn’t the time for heroism, Tom. I’ll stay. It’s my fault you’re all here in the first place.”</p><p>“No, no, we couldn’t use you,” Ava said quickly. “You’re more use to us in the laboratories. Thomas will do, if your offer still stands. If not, we’ll have to keep the lot of you. The more the merrier, am I right? But you can get rid of the non-Immunes.”</p><p>“You touch them and Ava dies!” Teresa shouted before the guards could even think about moving another muscle. There was no way she was letting any of her friends die on her watch. Like she said, this was her fault after all, and she intended to set that right. </p><p>But Teresa slowly began to sense movement from behind her, a figure slinking through the doorway with his arms crossed in front of his chest and an amused look on his rat-like face. Her eyes widened, though Janson didn’t appear to be holding a gun or any weapon of any sort, so she firmly held her ground. He could threaten her all he liked, but she wasn’t going to give in easily. It was now or never to finally stand up to WICKED. How could she throw away the opportunity to save her friends?</p><p>“Well, well, well, what have we here? Teresa,” Janson said, squinting his eyes at her as if considering his next words. “I thought we had an agreement.”</p><p>“This isn’t what I agreed to.”</p><p>Janson was referring to his threat of controlling her to make her more compliant, which had been hovered above her head the whole time she’d been here. It made her gut twist in fear; she was going against everything the man had told her to do by showing her attachments to her friends like this and she knew he was serious with his threats.</p><p>“You won’t shoot Ava,” Janson said with a sly grin on his face. “I’ve known you longer than you can probably remember, Teresa. You were the first Immune sent to us, and Ava practically raised you. She’s like a mother to you, hmm? That’s why you told her—”</p><p>“Shut up!” Teresa shouted, cutting the man off before he outed her about how she’d told Ava what Thomas’s plan was before the Trials. She wasn’t having <em> him </em> do that to her, of all people.</p><p>“Lower the gun,” Janson said with a sigh.</p><p>Teresa’s heart was hammering in her chest, but she knew she couldn’t give in just yet, she had to stand her ground, “No.”</p><p>“Teresa. Don’t make me do it.”</p><p>“Don’t make you do what?” Thomas asked, voice laden with utter hatred for the man. </p><p>Janson chuckled, the terrible sound echoing around the entire room and slicing uncomfortably through the tension, “Last chance, Teresa.”</p><p>She felt tears prick at her eyes as she shook her head in defiance. But she knew what was coming; maybe she could fight it. Teresa couldn’t let them take Thomas away from the others and keep him here to practically <em> torture </em>him. She wouldn’t let them do that.</p><p>“Teresa,” Ava said. “Come, now.”</p><p>“No! I can’t let you keep doing this. You fooled me once, but not again. All of this, it’s—”</p><p>Teresa cut off suddenly, every muscle and nerve in her body freezing. She couldn’t move; she could hardly think with the strain of not moving her arm down like every muscle was now screaming for her to do. The memories of being controlled out in the Scorch all came flooding back, the feeling identical to the last time WICKED had done this to her. A tear slid down her cheek as she finally gave in and lowered the gun. </p><p>At least she’d tried. </p><p>At least they could see that she’d tried.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0041"><h2>41. forty one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So, uh, you know that tag that says 'Eventual Character Death'? <br/>Yeah. It's about time for that.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>NEWT:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt could immediately tell that they were controlling Teresa by the way she scrunched up her face with the clear pain of disobeying. A tear slid down her cheek and his heart almost broke at the sight; here was the girl who had been manipulated by WICKED her whole life, betrayed her friends, and was always trying to do the right thing for both parties. Yet, it seemed that she didn’t have any choice in the matter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good choice,” Janson said as he took Teresa’s arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re not giving her a choice!” Thomas shouted. “Stop it! Can’t you see how inhumane this is? Leave her alone!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t the only one shouting now. Minho had started throwing insults in Janson’s direction, as had Brenda, Gally and Newt. But Ava simply watched on as if they were amusing her, face still frozen in a hard expression. Only now she raised a finger, to which none of them conformed to, but she spoke up anyway, “Take them all. I can’t bear the sight of them any longer. Get rid of the non-Immunes, they won’t be needed.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janson started moving with Teresa out the doorway they’d appeared from, soon followed by Ava who sent them all a small glare before turning her back with an antagonising swish of her ponytail.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So this was it. Their chance of escape was officially over. At least the Immunes had got out whilst they still could.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guard still holding onto Newt now started to move him, forcing him to turn towards the doors and start walking. He caught Thomas’s gaze, the boy’s eyes wide with both anger and helplessness, before Newt tore his eyes away with his heart sinking in his chest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt was the first to be led towards the doorway, and it took him by surprise when his guard loosened their hold on his wrists and reached to pull the double doors firmly shut in front of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Newt didn’t have a lot of time to comprehend what was going on.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If the room hadn’t been completely silent, he would have thought that he’d imagine the word that was whispered into his ear: “Duck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He did as he was told, and just in time because the guard had reached for the Launcher and opened fire on some of the other guards holding Newt’s friends captive. Newt was now crouched on the floor, cradling his head in his hands as grenades were shot around the room, and not just by the original guard themself. Either there was more than one of them on this guard’s side, whatever side that might be, or the others were shooting back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was over in a matter of seconds, the deafening sound of gunfire finally stopping. A hand was on his shoulder which was the moment he decided to look up at the carnage around the room, preparing himself for the worst.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His friends were all okay, in similar positions to Newt, but there were guards convulsing with electricity on the floor along with a few others who remained standing, helmets removed from their heads and discarded on the ground.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What in shuckin’ hell just happened?” Minho asked, his voice shaking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re the PFC,” one of the guards said. “Come on, you need to run while you still can. Out that door and through the fire escape to the furthest Berg slightly to the right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Let’s go!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He yelled the final two words when nobody had moved, everyone still too stunned to take in what had just happened. But Newt didn’t need telling twice; he grabbed one of the guns that were lying discarded on the floor and started towards the door the guard had pointed at. It was the one Janson had left from, so Newt hoped that the three of them were out of the way for now. They didn’t need another holdup; there wasn’t going to be some other miracle if they got themselves into a situation again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt pushed through the fire exit the PFC guard had told them about, incidentally setting off an alarm which would in no doubt be blaring throughout the entire complex. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great,” Minho said from somewhere behind Thomas. “Now they’ll know exactly what we’re shuckin’ doing.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That or they’ll think there’s a bloody fire,” Newt replied.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He hastily checked behind his shoulder as his friends poured out the fire door the boys had just exited, feet pounding the gritty, concrete floor outside. What caught his eye, however, was the fact that the PFC guards seemed to be hanging back; waiting for someone that they were frantically gesturing towards. Newt almost tripped, Thomas catching his arm just in time, but craned his neck once more to see what the source of commotion was back in the building.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two people came sprinting out, the PFC guards following close behind them and shutting the door once the last person was out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was Aris and Teresa.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt was momentarily confused as to why Aris had still been in the building, but then it hit him: </span>
  <em>
    <span>of course</span>
  </em>
  <span> Aris wouldn’t have been able to leave Teresa behind. He must have gone back for her before she came to point the gun at Ava’s head. But if she was here now, what did that mean about Janson and Ava? Had Aris shot them both? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt focused his attention back on the direction in which they were running, noticing that there was about three hundred meters between them and the Berg the PFC guard had described, the space littered with vehicles and two other Berg’s which could provide handy shelter if WICKED started shooting at them. But that would be a worst case situation, of course. They were too valuable.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt could vaguely see Vince standing on the ramp of the Berg, Launcher held in his arms. There were some unfamiliar figures behind him, watching as their group drew ever closer by the second.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first shot rang out when they were about halfway to the Berg, making everyone jump and instinctively reach to cover their heads. Newt couldn’t tell who the shooter was, but it didn’t make sense that WICKED would be the ones shooting</span>
  <em>
    <span> them</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He snuck a glance behind him and saw the WICKED guards pouring out of the firedoor, feet pummeling the concrete as they ran, Launchers raised but not shooting. They were faster than Newt’s group were and the PFC had obviously noticed this, hence the fact that they had now opened fire. The sound reverberated off of the metal of the vehicles, but Newt couldn’t look any more. And the moment a shot was returned, his heart almost stopped. WICKED were aiming at the PFC, but they could easily miss and accidently hit one of them instead. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Final chance to return on orders of Ava Paige, or we’ll be forced to shoot,” one of the guards shouted. “The Launchers won’t kill—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt watched as the guard speaking had a grenade shot into his chest, sending him flying backwards with electricity beginning to take control of his body. But now the rest of the guards were drawing nearer and nearer to the back of the group where Aris and Teresa were running alongside the PFC. They were so close to the Berg now, Vince’s shouts of encouragement now clearly audible. They must have only been about a hundred meters or so from the ramp when a yell came from the back of the group. Newt’s head snapped around to see both Aris and Teresa on the ground, Janson quickly coming up behind the wall of guards. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it looked as if Teresa was stopping Aris from getting back up to his feet, at the control of WICKED.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>ARIS:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris had felt Teresa’s foot connect with his shin, sending them both sprawling to the hard, concrete floor in a disorganised heap. Now, Teresa was practically on top of him, holding him down while all the others continued running on without them. Her breathing was ragged and she was twitching, face contorted in what looked like pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teresa! Get off of me!” Aris yelled, frantically trying to push her off.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aris,” Teresa muttered. “I can’t… it’s not… it’s Janson.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>With a surge of adrenaline, Aris managed to force Teresa backwards so he could scramble to his feet. She hadn’t been lying when she said that it was Janson; the man was running up behind the guards who were quickly approaching. </span>
  <em>
    <span>He was controlling Teresa,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Aris realised with a start. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girl lunged at him suddenly, grabbing hold of his wrist and clinging on with strength he didn’t realise she had, hard enough to leave a bruise.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teresa! Fight it!” Aris shouted. “Don’t let him do this!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can’t,” she sobbed. “I… have… to…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Those last three words crashed into Aris with such force that it was as if his lungs had been crushed. The memory came back to him then, about Beth standing in front of him with the knife, sending it flying… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris tugged against Teresa’s hold and she yielded, taking a few steps before halting once more. She released her grip on Aris, but he couldn’t just run, he couldn’t just leave her here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go,” she managed to say, her hands twitching by sides with the exhaustion of not adhering to what every muscle in her body was screaming out for her to do.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But it was too late. The guards had approached, all weapons trained on Aris.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Janson was right behind them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Teresa,” Janson said, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let her go,” Aris pleaded, though the fight was well and truly gone from him. “Stop controlling her. Please.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m guessing this is you offering to stay?” Janson asked, one eyebrow raised.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” said Aris. “I’ll stay. If you promise not to control her again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janson shook his head, a sly grin on his face, “Now, I’m not sure you’re quite in the position to be making compromises, do you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris was vaguely aware of the fact that the Berg behind him had lifted slightly off the ground, everyone onboard except the three PFC associates who had been watching Aris trying to fight off Teresa, clearly unsure of what they should do in this situation. They still held Launchers trained on the WICKED guards and Janson, but they were majorly outnumbered now. They’d have little chance if they did decide to shoot.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“At least let them go,” Aris said weakly, gesturing to the three people from the PFC.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janson nodded slowly, “Fine. We have no need for them, anyway.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>One of the WICKED guards beside Aris stepped towards him, reaching to grab hold of his arm to take him away, but a flash of movement from where Teresa was standing frozen caused everyone’s attention to return to the girl. She pulled out a small, round object from her jacket pocket with violently trembling hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A hand grenade. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“Teresa,” Aris warned, unsure as to whether she was doing it on Janson’s orders or her own will; one look at Janson confirmed that he was not making her do this. “What are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She squeezed her eyes closed, lips parting slightly around a whisper: </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aris. I only ever wanted… I never meant… I'm sorry. Please, just go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone was still, too afraid to move in fear of Teresa’s thumb pressing down on the red button on the metal surface of that grenade. But Aris took his chance, slowly stepping backwards towards the three PFC associates behind him. One of them pushed him backwards and Aris yielded, feet somehow moving him away from the scene before him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was the moment that the WICKED guards started shooting, grenades streaking past Aris’s head as he ran. The man to his left fell when a grenade hit him directly in the back, sprawling onto the ground with a groan of pain.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Keep going!” one of the remaining two yelled when Aris hesitated. He hoped they would take care of whoever had risked their life for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Berg was seconds away when there was a distant yell of ‘No!’ from the place Teresa was still standing. The grenade. Had she detonated it? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris had been praying that it had simply been a threat. But the deafening roar of explosion as Aris leapt onto the Berg proved him wrong. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teresa had detonated the thing so he could get out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he’d just left her there.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing he saw before collapsing onto the floor of the Berg was the plume of thick smoke coming up from where the guards, Janson and Teresa had all been gathered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ascending Berg shook with the impact.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>TERESA:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Teresa saw that Aris was out of the way, she closed her eyes. She could feel the pain of not adhering to what every muscle and nerve was straining to do. But after she pressed the red button of the hand grenade, she knew she’d done enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d saved her friends. What did it matter if she couldn’t save herself? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The grenade detonated. And everything was finally over.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0042"><h2>42. forty two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>NEWT:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt watched as Aris clambered onto the Berg which shook with the impact of the explosion. Two people from the PFC came in after him, somehow managing to drag someone up with them who was still convulsing with electricity. The ramp had closed behind them, the Berg swiftly making its ascent away from this place of hell. Away from the mess of the explosion. Away from...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where’s Teresa?” Thomas asked when he realised that the girl wasn’t with Aris and hadn’t made it onto the Berg.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt hadn’t seen what had happened, but if he had one guess it would be that Teresa caused that explosion. Nobody answered Thomas, but the pieces fell together so visibly inside his head. And the expression on his face when he realised...</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teresa was surely dead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” Thomas said suddenly. “No! We have to go back! Stop the Berg, we have to go and get her!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d made his way over to the door of the Berg, but was now ramming his finger against the button to the ramp, to no avail. They were in flight now; that door wouldn’t open unless they landed again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry Thomas,” Vince said with a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose and not meeting the boy’s eye. “We can’t land the Berg without putting all of these people at risk…”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“We have to!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Thomas yelled. “We can’t just leave her there!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was faced with absolute silence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt felt the tears begin to pool in his eyes, and he clamped a hand over his mouth in shock and despair for the girl who had saved his life; saved </span>
  <em>
    <span>all </span>
  </em>
  <span>their lives. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His friends fared no better:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris was still on the floor, eyes wide and unblinking as his body trembled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone else was standing shell shocked, as if nobody could believe anything that had just happened. Nobody </span>
  <em>
    <span>wanted</span>
  </em>
  <span> to believe it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teresa had saved Newt’s life, and he hadn’t even had the chance to thank her. Despite everything she’d done, her final act had been to save her friends. And that showed a whole different kind of bravery.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can’t leave her,” Thomas whispered, the tears cascading freely down his cheeks now, unable to keep them at bay. It looked as if his legs were about to give in, his body shaking as he barely held himself up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Vince apologised again, looking just as shocked as the rest of them but taking a seat to his right, head in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt wasn’t sure how long they stood there, almost paralysed to the spot, but he was vaguely aware of the fact that his sister was crying into Harriet’s shoulder, and that a few of them had slumped to the floor, staring disbelievingly at the door. It was only when he felt someone pull him into a tight hug that he snapped out of his trance, finally acknowledging the fact that he himself was still crying, the tears falling uncontrollably down his cheeks as his heart broke over and over for the girl who had saved his life but couldn’t save her own. Newt buried his face in Thomas’s shoulder as they embraced, clutching onto him so tightly as their bodies shook with unsuppressible sobs.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why’d she do it?” Thomas whispered so, so quietly. “Why didn’t she save herself?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took Newt a minute to calm his breathing enough to get the words out in an intelligible way. “Maybe she knew she couldn’t live with the guilt,” he said. “What she did… that was brave. She was putting right what she’d made wrong. But saving herself… maybe she didn’t want that. After what she did, everything would have changed for her. And perhaps she didn’t want to experience that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His voice broke on the final few words, and Thomas pulled him impossibly closer as a fresh wave of tears graced his cheeks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Teresa was gone. And it hurt so, so much.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>ARIS:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris wasn’t sure when he’d stopped crying or how long he’d been sitting with his head against his knees. When he looked up, Julia was sitting beside him and Ash was reading quietly from the book she’d picked up back in the dormitory. She looked up from the pages and smiled softly at Aris when she noticed him looking at her. The Berg was almost silent; Ash’s quiet reading, a few soft murmurs and the general hum of the Berg were the only sounds audible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris rubbed at his eyes which stung like someone had pricked them with lots of tiny needles, wiping away the dampness that had settled on his lashes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rose to his feet, easing his legs out of the cramped position he’d put himself in when he’d clambered onto the Berg. Aris passed Vince as he walked through the Berg and the man nodded at him, a silent gesture of reassurance. He wanted to find Thomas and the others—the people who had really known Teresa and would be able to empathise with him. They were the people he needed to be with right now; to bask in their grief together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As it turns out, they weren’t hard to find. The group was sitting in what looked like their own little nook—a mattress was on the floor by the base of the sofa and they were sitting in a circle with blankets draped across shoulders and knees.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aris came up behind Sonya, placing a hand on her shoulder and slotting into the space beside her and Harriet. She didn’t say anything; she didn’t have to.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But she pulled him into a hug which spoke a million words, and Aris knew that he was home. These people were his home; his family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone was sitting close, as if they couldn’t bear to leave each other's sides after all that had happened. Aris could tell that he wasn’t the only one who had been crying; Thomas’s eyes were red rimmed, as were Harriet and Sonya’s, but everyone’s expressions were so sunken that it was clear they all felt the same. They all looked exhausted; not just physically but emotionally and mentally, too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody spoke. Nobody had to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because the pain of losing Teresa was too much to bear for now. Maybe later, once everyone had been able to digest what had happened, they would be able to share stories and never let her memory die with her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But one thing Aris knew he had to let go was what Teresa had admitted doing to Thomas before the Trials; he’d sworn to himself never to inflict that unnecessary pain on him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was no wonder, really, that Teresa had done what she had, after being no stranger to the art of betrayal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She’d done it again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But this time, she’d paid for it. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>NEWT:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was safe to say that everyone was, in short, profoundly exhausted. Maybe it was all the tears that had been shed over the past hour, or maybe it was left over remnants from everything they’d been subjected to over the past forty eight hours, or perhaps it was the harsh mixture of both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But whatever it was had them all tucked into their respective corners, a palpable silence hanging uncomfortably over their corner of the Berg. A silence tinged with sadness and grief.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt excused himself from his place beside Thomas to give in to the gnawing anxiety that had been building in his gut; he had no strength left in him to fight the urge to check on his friends. If anything, he needed the comfort this action would provide him with, but Newt couldn’t meet Thomas’s eye as he unwound himself from their embrace, in fear that his knowing look would encourage another breakdown. He didn’t need that right now. What he needed was to check on his friends.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Most of them were sleeping, including Sonya who was curled up on the sofa with her knees pulled up to her chin and, as Newt passed her, he draped a spare blanket over her knees. His sister had been so close to Teresa, and her heartbreak made his own heart ache.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Not too far away from Sonya sat Aris, wide awake and seemingly in his own little world as he focused his gaze somewhere on the floor. Newt smiled softly at him as he passed, Aris managing to return it to some extent. That boy had been right in the midst of everything that happened outside with Teresa, and Newt couldn’t even begin to imagine what he must be feeling. Brenda and Gally were fast asleep, heads resting against the other’s, which was almost enough to bring a small smile to his face. Almost. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except he still didn’t feel satisfied, even when he had sufficiently checked on each one of his friends, the anxiety still gnawing hungrily at his insides. Because there was someone missing. Because there was someone who wasn’t coming back. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Teresa wasn’t coming back. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The realisation crept up on him so suddenly that he could hardly suppress the gasp that escaped his lips, throat slowly constricting as the panic arose in that now-familiar way. He had to lean heavily against the wall of Berg to keep his shaking legs from giving in, his breath coming in agitated gasps which he tried to keep quiet as not to wake any of his friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except, not all of them were completely oblivious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because Thomas was somehow by his side in a matter of seconds, comforting hands bringing Newt down from the sudden wave of panic and guiding him wordless back to their little nook of solace. He didn’t need to provide an explanation. Thomas just knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey,” he whispered. “Newt, look at me. It’s okay. You’re okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt buried his face in Thomas’s shoulder with a shaky sigh, “No, Tommy, it’s not. It’s not okay. None of this is bloody okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because it really wasn’t. It was absolutely </span>
  <em>
    <span>not okay. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And with fresh tears pooling in both of their eyes, it was hard to believe that it ever would be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a long stretch of silence, punctuated with both of their sniffles and gentle breaths, where Newt finally found the exhaustion catching up to him, the soft tendrils of sleep slowly tugging him under. Maybe unconsciousness would provide respite for all this pain. Maybe when he woke up, the world might look a little different. A world without Teresa. A world stripped of the girl who had saved his life, but who couldn’t save her own.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>How could that ever be okay?</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0043"><h2>43. forty three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <span>THOMAS:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas didn’t sleep the entire four hour flight home. Maybe he should have, considering the many hours that had passed since he’d last slept and the fact that he now had a sleep-warm Newt wrapped around him, clinging on like an adorable little koala. But sleep didn’t come, instead leaving him with too much time to </span>
  <em>
    <span>think. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>During this time, he thought about Teresa. He thought about how she’d saved Newt’s life and how she’d offered to stay at WICKED so the rest of them could go free. He thought about everything they had been through together, for better or for worse. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Thomas tried not to think about the ‘worse’. He didn’t want to remember Teresa as a betrayer, despite what her tattoo may say, because that wasn’t who she was. Not really. Teresa had died trying to save them, and if that didn’t speak a thousand words alone, what would?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The problem was, Thomas couldn’t stop thinking about the scenario which could have seen Newt in a much worse position than he was in now. If Teresa hadn’t warned Thomas when she had, Newt might be dead as well as her. If he hadn’t got there quick enough, that woman would have killed Newt without a second thought about the consequences…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought sent a shiver down his spine, and he urged himself to stop thinking about </span>
  <em>
    <span>what if </span>
  </em>
  <span>because that was going to get him absolutely nowhere. Instead, he considered the events which had unfolded shortly before Newt had fallen asleep with his arms wrapped around Thomas’s waist, anxiety crawling through his nerves as he trembled with the knowledge that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Teresa is dead</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Thomas had watched helplessly as Newt submitted to his urges, not even trying to step in and stop him because he knew that he needed the comfort it would provide him. He didn’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to try and stop him after everything. Did that make him a bad person? Thomas really hoped not. He just hoped that it hurt a little less in his state of unconsciousness.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t long before Vince was alerting everyone to the fact that there were just five minutes until touchdown, a sense of sorrow tinging his whispered words to their group in this little corner of the Berg. Most of them were awake now, once again adopting the dazed expressions of which sleep had relieved them of, except for Newt who was only just starting to stir with the rising noise level. Thomas couldn’t blame the new Immunes for their excitement towards seeing their new home for the first time; if anything, it was a relief to not be completely crushed by the weight of grief. Because there was a strange heaviness in the air which might have been crushing if it weren’t for the people holding the weight of the world for those who weren’t strong enough to do it themselves. And for that, Thomas was grateful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Newt,” he whispered, gently running a hand through the boy’s hair in an attempt to wake him. “We’re almost home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt slowly shifted his weight and unwound his arms from Thomas, allowing an influx of cool air to rush between them before he seemed to jerk fully into consciousness, eyes suddenly alert and frantically searching the Berg. He didn’t get up to check on them, but Thomas could tell that this was exactly what Newt was doing: checking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sonya?” he muttered under his breath. “Where’s Sonya? Is she okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s fine, Newt. I just saw her talking to Julia,” said Thomas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded and hummed in response, desperate to see the tension in Newt’s drain away as he realises that everyone is </span>
  <em>
    <span>okay. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But instead, the concern was directed at Thomas, anxious eyes searching and searching for an answer and, after taking in Thomas’s red rimmed eyes and gloomy expression, he seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. Newt sighed, rubbing at his eyes with the heel of his hand before allowing his head to fall back against Thomas’s shoulder. He was still sleep-warm and Thomas didn’t have the heart to remind him that they were about to land.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you get some sleep?” Newt asked, his voice still dozy from his nap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope,” Thomas said, popping the ‘p’. “Not tired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you lyin’ to me, Tommy?” Newt asked, raising his head to narrow his eyes at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas sighed slightly, guiding Newt’s head back down onto his shoulder, “Maybe a little bit. But I’m fine, don’t worry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except he wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine, </span>
  </em>
  <span>as such. Not really. How could he be after everything? How could </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone </span>
  </em>
  <span>be after everything?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But Newt knew this; Newt </span>
  <em>
    <span>understood </span>
  </em>
  <span>this because he was probably feeling the exact same. That was the thing about shared grief: you didn’t have to explain yourself or try to reason with people because they just got it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In a post-apocalyptic world, everyone had lost someone they loved. Everyone had lost </span>
  <em>
    <span>most </span>
  </em>
  <span>of the people they loved. Sometimes it felt like it was them against the world, and that the world could do nothing but strip them of anything good. But at other times, Thomas felt lucky. Because he wasn’t alone, and he still had people he loved by his side. No matter how hard they are hit, they are always hit together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to face the world,” Newt whispered so, so, quietly. “Because facing it means that it’s real, and I don’t want this to be real.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas allows the words to hang in the air because if he’s honest, he’s never heard truer words in his life. If he could hide away and not have to face the truth, maybe he would. Except the truth has to be faced; the truth is the most brutal of all, unrelenting and persistent in every sense of the word. It’s invisible hands slowly squeezing at your throat, leaving your lungs burning and gasping for air. It’s the pounding of your heart and the anxiety coursing through your veins. It’s honest and it’s tangible and it’s so very, very real.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ramp to the Berg opened with a familiar metallic groan, sunlight pouring into the dimly lit ship and illuminating the excitable faces of the new arrivals to their Safe Haven. It felt surreal to be home again, to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe </span>
  </em>
  <span>again after everything that had happened in such a short space of time. But being back meant that they had to face the Teresa-shaped hole in their family and in their hearts, and Thomas wasn’t sure he was ready for that. But then, would he ever be ready? Would any of them?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt and Thomas were almost last to leave the Berg once the ramp had been lowered and the masses had trickled out with varying levels of enthusiasm, allowing the others to have this moment of joy at seeing their new home without having to subdue or suppress their excitement for those who were grieving, because they deserved this moment. They really deserved it after everything WICKED had put them through. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And so the two boys left just behind a few of their friends, closely followed by Vince and someone from the PFC, with heavy hearts and muscles made of lead. Thomas wasn’t sure where they’re headed or if any of them had any sense of direction, but it felt like he was simply drifting through the motions as his legs propelled him further forward into the place he calls home. There was a dark, heavy fog hovering persistently, masking the joy he should be feeling for finally being back home, and constantly reminding him of his loss. It’s hard to appreciate the blue hues of the sky when all you can feel is darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a Gathering called which both Molly and Vince were going to lead, to introduce the new arrivals to the Safe Haven and to update everyone on the previous two days’ events, but it was made very clear that Thomas and the others did not have to attend. Vince’s own grief was evident on his face, after losing Nella to the hands of WICKED as well as Teresa, and Thomas had to admire the strength it must take for him to carry on like he was. Life doesn’t stop for grief, but it can sometimes feel like it does.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their friends dispersed in various directions after they’d all left the dimly-lit Berg, but Newt had remained right by Thomas’s side, wordlessly reminding him that they are in this together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sonya, Aris and Brenda headed straight to their dorm room, whilst Thomas was pretty sure that Minho took off in a run as soon as the ramp had opened. Frypan seemed to have headed towards the kitchens, probably to make sure that nothing had fallen to pieces while he’d been gone, and both Harriet and Gally had decided to join the Gathering, despite it not being compulsory for them. It was clear that they were all going to react differently to this grief, whether it be distraction or admittance of the emotions. And that was completely okay.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sky had turned to fire, the sun a ball of orange as it set slowly beneath the horizon, reflecting against the mass of water in front of them with shards of shimmering light dancing across the waves in a vivid display of beauty. Thomas’s fingers were entwined with Newt’s, a constant reminder of his presence and the fact that he wasn’t alone and didn't have to fall entirely into a black abyss. The two boys escaped to solitude, a little way away from the people but still within the boundary of the Safe Haven, and they watched silently as the sun began to set with the ever-darkening sky. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt had changed into an oversized jumper which hung loosely over his slender frame, and engulfed him in a bundle of warmth which practically radiated off him in their close proximity. His messy blond hair glowed with the orange light of the sky, flashing golden with every tug of the breeze, and Thomas swore that he had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You starin’ at me, Tommy?” Newt asked, eyes never leaving the horizon before him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe,” Thomas replied. “Is that okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt turned his head to look at him then, a small smile playing on his lips and eyes softening as he stared back at Thomas. “Mhm,” he nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>If it was anyone else, Thomas would surely have squirmed under the almost intense eye contact, but he knows that he could drown in those eyes that lock onto his and make him feel a million and one different things all at once. And he knows that he is absolutely smitten for the boy who was almost stripped away from him for the second time, and who he would do absolutely anything for if it just meant his safety. Thomas knows there is nothing he wouldn’t do for this boy.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Newt, I—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But just before he could get any more words out, there was a subtle cough from behind him and Thomas tore his gaze away from Newt to focus on Frypan who was holding two steaming pots with two spoons and looking rather sheepish at having interrupted a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Harriet said she saw you two come up here,” said Frypan. “I brought you some dinner, if you want it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt cleared his throat, “Thanks, Fry. You didn’t have to do that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to. You need to eat something and I remembered that you loved my stew.” Frypan placed the two pots in their hands, “Anyway, uh, enjoy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Thomas said with a small smile at his friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gratefully accepted the food, moved that Frypan had considered them despite their absence from the cafeteria that evening. Thomas couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten, after refusing the food at WICKED, but he really wasn’t all that hungry.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The sun was now hovering tentatively above the horizon, threatening to dip below and allow the sky to be consumed with a darkness which brought with it a slight chill to the air. A few dark clouds were bubbling up in the west, beginning to conceal the orange hues from sight, and Thomas was grateful for the warmth of the boy beside him as the temperature noticeably lowered.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He absent mindedly stirred his stew, still untouched, and almost startled when he felt a hand close over his own around the handle of the spoon, halting the subconscious action.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You need to eat something, Tommy,” Newt said, a flicker of concern crossing his features.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not hungry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes but you still need to eat something, even if it’s just a little bit.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas glanced across at Newt, then, meeting the eyes that were practically oozing with care, concern and compassion, and he knew that he couldn’t say no to him when Newt was looking at him like </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>. With a sigh and a brief nod of his head, Thomas complied to Newt’s request and ate a spoonful of the stew, marvelling at Frypan’s talent despite all the stress and heartache. He really wasn’t hungry, but he at least took a few mouthfuls for Newt’s sake.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two boys sat in a comfortable silence for a while longer, before Thomas became acutely aware of Newt’s fidgeting beside him and his slightly quickened breathing. Thomas had eaten around half of his stew when Newt shifted away slightly and began to stand. “I’ll be back in a minute,” he said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you going?” asked Thomas, although he certainly already knew what Newt was going to go and do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt sighed, running a hand through his hair, “Just to check on Sonya. I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except now his eyes were frantic and his hands were trembling ever so slightly, and Thomas knew that the urges must be so strong, so intense, for him to be reacting to this extremity. On instinct, Thomas reached out to grab hold of Newt’s wrist before he could walk away, desperate to be able to calm him down and show him that he doesn’t have to give in to this; that he can fight it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“She’s fine, you know she’s fine. She went to her bunk, remember? We saw her. You can fight the urges, I know you can.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tommy, just let me go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re safe here, I promise. We’re all safe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My checking isn’t going to hurt anyone,” Newt retorted.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s hurting you, Newt, can’t you see? It’s hurting </span>
  <em>
    <span>you.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That’s when Newt jerked his hand out of Thomas’s grasp, staring at him as he’d just slapped him across the face, “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine </span>
  </em>
  <span>Thomas, so just </span>
  <em>
    <span>let me go</span>
  </em>
  <span> and </span>
  <em>
    <span>leave me alone.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>And he does. He lets him go. Because he wasn’t lying when he said that there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for this boy. Because he doesn’t want Newt to hate him for trying to stop him from playing out his urges, even though he knows it’s hurting him. Because he doesn’t want to give the world the satisfaction of driving them apart.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The world took Teresa away. The world gave Newt this unrelenting anxiety. He has every reason to hate the world for everything it does to him and his friends; to the person he loves. And Thomas will fight to make sure that the world never takes Newt away from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But not tonight. Tonight, the world wins. It’s taken Newt away by making him </span>
  <em>
    <span>suffer. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe they all get hit together, but they have to deal with the consequences alone. And maybe that’s the thing about grief: it’s lonely if you let it be, and it’s lonely if you don’t. Either way, you always lose to it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas breaks down for the second time today, with stuttering breaths and strangled sobs which rack through his body mercilessly as he feels everything at once because this is so, so real that it hurts.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt was right: facing it really does make it so much more real. And reality hurts. It hurts like absolute hell.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>we're so near the end now :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0044"><h2>44. forty four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm not sure why but there was something about this chapter I just wasn't satisfied about when I went to post it.<br/>Anyway, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless :)<br/>Also: warning for compulsive behaviours around halfway through, in case that's upsetting for anyone x</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>NEWT:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt curled up on his bed after checking on a sleeping Sonya, with tears falling uncontrollably down his cheeks because </span>
  <em>
    <span>he just pushed away the one person he needs more than anything right now. </span>
  </em>
  <span>But the urges had been so strong and Thomas was trying to stop him and he had just </span>
  <em>
    <span>snapped…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He had just snapped and done the only thing he thought could provide him with the comfort he needed in that moment, which was to check on his sister. But Thomas had been right; of course he’d been right. Sonya was </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine, </span>
  </em>
  <span>just like he’d said she was and, once again, Newt lost to the power and utter intensity of his anxiety and pushed Thomas away in doing so. He knew that Thomas was hurting and he knew that they needed to stick together while they grieved for Teresa, but this knowledge only made Newt feel so much worse about his actions. He can feel himself falling. It’s the ivy-covered wall in the Maze all over again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point, Thomas entered their dorm room with Minho and they slipped wordlessly into bed, Newt’s back to the boys’ bunk. Except, having his back to them meant that Teresa’s bed was directly in his line of sight. A bed which will never be filled with its owner ever again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt fails to suppress a sob, clamping a hand over his mouth and turning over in bed because he can’t bear to look at the gaping hole that is Teresa’s absence any longer. It physically pains him how he never appreciated her enough when she was alive and he never got to thank her for saving his life, because even though she was so conflicted in her final days, she was his </span>
  <em>
    <span>friend </span>
  </em>
  <span>and he never thought the loss could hurt like this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Newt is afraid. He is afraid of the things in his brain because he really doesn’t want to fall again but here he is; falling. Falling. Falling further and further into a black abyss…</span>
</p><p>
  <span>… </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Newt?” came a tentative whisper. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just when he is ready to give in to the blackness, someone catches him. Thomas catches him, even when Newt had pushed him away. And that momentary offer of forgiveness shone a light through the darkness so Newt could find his way back; back to something which resembles </span>
  <em>
    <span>hope. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maybe hope was all they really needed, after all: hope that this darkness would pass, hope that Teresa didn’t die in vain, and hope that everything was going to be okay again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Without hope, there is darkness. Without hope, there is no way out.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But </span>
  <em>
    <span>with</span>
  </em>
  <span> hope there is light at the end of this tunnel called grief, and it will guide them safely to the very end, where everything makes so much more sense.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This hope gave Newt all the encouragement he needed to roll out of bed, and into the welcoming arms of the boy who gives him so much strength to keep pushing through; to reach the end of the tunnel.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” Newt whispered as his tears fell freely. “I’m sorry I pushed you away.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas placed a brief kiss to Newt’s head, “I’m sorry too, for not understanding and not giving you time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt wanted to probe further and remind him that he actually had nothing to apologise for, but Thomas was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>warm </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Newt was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>tired </span>
  </em>
  <span>and all he wanted was to stay like this forever, or at least until the pain subsided because his heart physically hurt and he knew that Thomas’s did, too. Like Thomas said, they needed </span>
  <em>
    <span>time.</span>
  </em>
  <span> And in Newt’s opinion, what better way is there to spend this time than to spend it together?</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He startled awake to the sensation of the bed and the person beside him both vibrating violently. It took him a couple of seconds to realise what was happening but as soon as he did, he turned to Thomas and shook the boy’s shoulders in a desperate attempt to wake him up from his nightmare.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt caught some of the brief mutterings spilling from Thomas’s mouth and felt his heart clench as he pieced them together:</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, come back.” “Don’t go.” “No, Newt.” “Come back.” “No.” “NO!”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“NEWT!”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas launched upright, almost toppling Newt off the bed if he hadn’t immediately reached out to grab him, frantic eyes searching and scanning for answers to his nightmare-ridden questions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sometimes the truth isn’t in what you say, it’s in what you </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t</span>
  </em>
  <span> say, and his silence spoke a thousand words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re okay?” Thomas asked breathlessly, one of his hands coming up to cup Newt’s jaw.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded in response, covering Thomas’s hand with his own, “I’m okay. It was just a nightmare.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt doesn’t ask about it because he knows from experience that it’s easier to just try and forget; remembering and recalling it only makes it ten times worse, and it’s entirely unnecessary to live through that pain twice. But he doesn’t need to ask; what he heard was enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You alright, shank?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt instantly spun around at the sound of the voice, coming almost face to face with Minho, much to his absolute surprise, but it took him a second to comprehend the fact that Minho is, in fact, </span>
  <em>
    <span>upside down</span>
  </em>
  <span> as he leant over from his top bunk. The look of surprise of Newt’s face was reciprocated as both boys backed away from their close encounter, eyes wide.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh,” Minho stammered, speechless. Newt couldn’t work out if he was surprised at their almost-collision or the fact that Thomas is not alone in his bed but he decides, after some deliberation, that it’s probably a mixture of both.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine, Minho, don’t worry,” said Thomas, mostly oblivious to the awkwardness oozing from his two best friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minho tilted his head to the side (whilst remaining upside down, Newt isn’t sure why he’s still doing that) and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Newt. “I’m guessing the two of you kissed and made up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was only then that Newt became acutely aware of the fact that Thomas was still gripping onto him, pulled close due to the narrow width of the bed, but he also supposed that this means that Thomas spoke to Minho about what happened last night, which brought a shameful blush to his cheeks. He hates to think of his best friend thinking badly of him, especially because Minho doesn’t know about the real reason Newt pushed Thomas away: the urges. He still hasn’t told him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Slim it, Min,” Thomas sighed, raking a hand through his wild bed-hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Seriously though,” said Minho. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Could do with some air, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minho gave Newt one last glance before removing his head from their vicinity and eventually jumping down from the top bunk and landing at the bottom of the ladder which seemed more than sufficient enough in Newt’s opinion, but hey, what did he know?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt didn’t bother to change, simply throwing on the jumper he’d worn last night and sliding on his worn-out trainers, all the while desperately trying to avoid allowing his gaze to wander towards Teresa’s empty bed. He could feel the ever-looming anxiety like an itch he was desperate to scratch, and couldn’t help it when his eyes began darting around the room in search of the relief he knew the checking would provide him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tommy,” he whispered once the three boys reached the metal door of their door room. “Wait outside for me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could visibly see Thomas come to realise what he meant, and was scared for a moment that he might try and stop him again, despite how that turned out just last night. But, and much to his relief, Thomas nodded and ushered Minho out of the room without a word, though he could  hear the bombardment of questions as soon as the door closed behind them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, breathe,” he muttered to himself as he made his way back through the room, nails scraping uncomfortably against his palm as he balled his hands into fists. Eight people, not including him, not including Teresa. Eight times he knows they’re okay. Breathe. Aris isn’t in bed, maybe he’s gone for a walk or something. His palms sting, a temporary relief from the anxiety. Minho and Thomas are outside, he can count them, too. Breathe. Ignore Teresa’s empty bed. Eight people are safe, probably including Aris. Where’s Aris? Breathe. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Breathe.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“All good?” Thomas asked as soon as Newt closed the door behind him, suppressing his gasp for breath and attempting to swallow back the rising panic in his chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine,” replied Newt. “No Aris, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This is the moment that Newt’s gaze flicked over to where Minho was watching him, in no doubt confused about what just happened, and so he missed the way Thomas’s eyes flare in his own concern at hearing that Aris wasn’t in bed; it’s not panic like Newt feels, however. It’s panic that Newt himself might be panicking. But Newt doesn’t have to know that.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I saw him leave before you guys woke up,” said Minho, and Newt instantly felt a rush of momentary relief at his words.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rational part of his brain knows that Aris has probably just snuck off somewhere, like he did that other morning when he spoke to Julia before anyone else got the chance to. Maybe he was with the new Immunes in the classrooms, in their temporary hammocks until the builders finished the huts. Or maybe he’d just gone to get coffee, because the sun was rising and he’s been known to be an early riser in the past. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Deep breaths.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The sky that morning was dark grey, a stark contrast from last night’s abundance of colour, and it was drizzling ever so slightly, light raindrops settling in their hair and eyelashes. A strange sense of calm settled across the Safe Haven, engulfed by the misty morning and the fresh, sea air settling on the tips of their tongues. He glanced to his left towards Thomas and noticed, albeit a little late, that he was wearing Newt’s favourite jacket (brown, with a fluffy lining), and he shook his head at the boy with a fond smile, though there was something about it that felt strangely intimate. When he thought </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Minho must have caught him staring because he cleared his throat, giving Newt a knowing glance as they walked half-heartedly towards the cafeteria. “So, Newt,” he said. “As your best friend, am I going to get an explanation?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, I thought I was his best friend!” said Thomas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You wish, sunshine. Anyway, you’re more like his—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Guys!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Please!” Newt interrupted, cutting Minho off before he could delve into their personal business like the busy-body he is. “Maybe just drop it now, yeah?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas bit his lower lip, suppressing a smirk, and this was the moment that they, thankfully, reached the cafeteria and pushed through the double doors only to see that their usual table was, in fact, occupied. Aris sat alone, nursing a mug of coffee, but quickly drained it and stood up when he saw the three boys enter, dark circles apparent under his eyes as he shot them a small smile in passing, not quite reaching his bloodshot eyes. A wave of relief flooded through Newt and he exhaled a breath he definitely hadn’t realised he’d been holding because that makes up the eight he had been teetering right on the edge of by putting his faith in Minho’s word alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Except Aris looked anything but okay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he was so quick to scarper when they entered which made Newt wonder what was going on inside his head. If he wanted to isolate himself while he grieved, that was fine. But he shouldn’t suffer completely alone; they’re all going through the same thing here.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Newt could even consider saying anything to comfort him, he was out of the door with a mumble of something which might have been about a shower, leaving the three boys alone in the cafeteria. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was weird,” said Minho, stating the obvious.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Newt hummed in agreement as he sat down beside Thomas and opposite Minho, mind already whirring with anxiety for Aris and the realisation that he really should have checked in on him sooner because Teresa had been his best friend, after all. As if sensing Newt’s spiralling thoughts, Thomas tugged gently on the sleeve of Newt’s jumper before sliding his fingers down his palm and eventually entwining them together with Newt’s. He so desperately wanted to lean further into the touch, but Minho was already watching them with a knowing smirk and he wasn’t sure that he was ready for that conversation just yet, so he focused instead on the sensation of Thomas’s thumb gently tracing over his skin.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Newt,” said Minho, with concern in his eyes. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a deep breath and reassuring nod from Thomas, Newt told him everything he needed to know about his compulsive behaviours, and Minho nodded along so sympathetically. This was something he was going to have to learn to deal with over time and Minho deserved to know what was going on, after everything they had already been through together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, so last night…” Minho said once Newt had finished explaining everything. “Is that why I found Thomas sobbing at the top of the hill?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He snapped his head around to stare at Thomas, eyes wide, but the boy was already glaring at Minho who looked a lot like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>asked Newt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas just sighed, shaking his head slightly and closing his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Tommy? Is that true? After I left?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I was just so upset that I couldn’t stop you and that I can’t do anything to make it </span>
  <em>
    <span>go away</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” said Thomas. “I hate that you have to suffer like this and when you pushed me away, I just—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He trailed off when Newt pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, whispering promises he prays that he can keep and allowing the guilt to swallow him whole and spit him back out again with another reason to try and fight this. Because he was wrong when he said that the checking doesn’t hurt anyone. Because he can’t sit back and let his actions make everything worse for both him and the people he cares about.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So if that isn’t reason enough to fight, he’s not sure what is.</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0045"><h2>45. forty five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Warnings: talk of OCD and very mild self injury (scratching palms, nothing graphic)<br/>But there's also some romancy things at the end so it's not all bad I promise xx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>THOMAS</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas managed to sneak away later in the afternoon in an attempt to seek out Molly, the only person he trusted to go to for advice. Newt had told her a bit about his urges and, as a doctor, it was possible that she might be able to help both Newt and Thomas here. Because there are only so many times you can see someone tear themself apart before it becomes a little too much to bear. And Thomas was at breaking point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So this is why he was chasing down Molly as she walked between the cafeteria and the classrooms, waving his arms like an absolute madman to try and get her attention.. “Molly!” he yelled..</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She spun around at the sound of her name being called, and stopped to face Thomas as he approached. “Hey Thomas. Everything okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I just… well… not really,” he sighed. “It’s about Newt. I was wondering if I could talk to you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course. Let’s get out of this rain, though, shall we?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It had been raining on and off all day, giving everyone a good reason to stay inside in either the cafeteria or their dorm room which had been turned into a very cosy safe space during the course of the day. There were some people who simply refused to be cooped up, however. This included Aris who had hardly been seen all day, Gally who was adamant on working on one of the new huts with the other Builders, Frypan who spent his time in the kitchens as per usual, and Harriet who had been making friends with the new arrivals. Thomas had learnt that the new Immunes were sleeping in temporary hammocks in the classrooms, or in the empty, unused hospital beds, but he knew very little more about how any of them were enjoying their new home. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now, Thomas followed Molly into one of the empty classrooms, taking a seat opposite her atop of one of the desks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So,” she said. “About Newt. Is he okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas sighed, raking a hand through his hair, “Not exactly. The urges, they’re… intense. And I don’t know what I can do to help him except let him do it because when I tried to stop him he pushed me away and I just—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He cut off with a shake of his head, unable to continue that train of thought, and Molly leant forward slightly to speak to him. “Okay, Thomas, listen to me. You did the right thing in coming to speak to me, because this is something that you shouldn’t have to deal with alone. The thing is, the brain learns to cope with loss in such complex different ways, including digging up coping strategies which may seem a little more harmful than good. In Newt’s case, his brain’s coping strategy is to check on the people he loves, as you’ve seen.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But it’s not a coping strategy if it’s hurting him even more,” said Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly nodded, “You’re right, it’s not. That’s where it becomes obsessive compulsive, and it feels easier for him to simply give in to the urges which have created a whole new problem. Do you see what I mean?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas did. He understood. But that didn’t make it hurt any less.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do I help him?” he asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s where it gets a little tricky, I’m afraid,” said Molly. “My brother had OCD in his teens, before the Sun Flares this is, and he was put on medication and went through therapy. Obviously we don’t have that here, so that’s not really an option. I’m not a psychologist or a therapist, I’m just a doctor, but something we used to do with my brother is reassure him that everything actually is okay. In Newt’s case, you could try telling him to remember where everyone is and how they were when he last saw them, which might reduce the anxiety slightly.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is that going to work?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Possibly. You might see that it lessens slightly over time, but until then you just need to be patient with him,” Molly sighed. “But there is something you should look out for which we were warned about with my brother. He might try and reduce the anxiety in his own way which can sometimes turn into a harmful type of relief from the initial problem. So just watch out for any unusual behaviours, yeah? Sometimes these things are subconscious and it might help for you to point it out for him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Part of him was overwhelmed with the idea that Newt could seemingly deteriorate even further, but he was also partly relieved that he now knew what might actually help the boy he cared about most in the world. At least he wouldn’t be entirely helpless in the future.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But Thomas, I know you mean a lot to him and that he means a lot to you, so the best thing you can do for both of you is to just be there for him and show that you’re not going to leave,” said Molly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas nodded, “Of course. I wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It was only once dinner had been eaten the next evening that Thomas noticed something similar in Newt to what Molly had warned him about. The action was so subtle that Thomas would have passed it off as nothing important if he hadn’t been looking for it:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hands clenching into fists usually before he submitted to the urges, with his nails scratching against his palm so often and so forcefully that the soreness of it was clearly evident in flashes of angry red. Newt had at first declined there being anything wrong when Thomas had asked him about the redness of his palms, though it was obvious that it wasn’t ‘fine’ and Thomas didn’t need to ‘stop worrying so bloody much’. After hearing Molly warn about this exact sort of thing, Thomas knew that this wasn’t just a coincidence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Newt,” he whispered. “Can I talk to you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt gave him a slightly incredulous look but nodded anyway, following Thomas out the doors to the cafeteria and following him out through the slightly drizzling rain. Thomas didn’t want to go back to their dorm room because they had a high chance of being interrupted, so he led them around the back of the block of dorms where very few people would see them at this time of day. He noticed that one of the huts the builders had been working on was practically finished, and that another was starting to be built just beside it, but he quickly turned his attention to the boy beside him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” asked Newt, raindrops settling delicately in his hair and on his jumper, and Thomas had to resist the urge to swipe away one drop that had settled on his cheekbone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just need you to hear me out on this one, okay?” said Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt frowned, “What have you done now, Tommy?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas laughed a little, shaking his head, “Nothing, don’t worry. Well, not </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing. </span>
  </em>
  <span>I mean, I spoke to Molly earlier…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He went on to explain everything he had talked to Molly about, noting that Newt’s face remained neutral throughout, all the way up until Thomas mentioned what he’d noticed about his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thomas, I don’t—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no, no, don’t shut me out again, Newt, </span>
  <em>
    <span>please</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Molly said this is normal and that I can help you with this. I want to help you, if you’ll let me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt blinked at him once, twice, three times, before sighing and running a hand across his face, “I don’t know what you want me to say.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just let me in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Talk to me when you get the urges so we can work through it together, tell me when it gets too much to handle, let me help you keep this under control.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was something so vulnerable about Newt’s expression that Thomas just wished he could bundle him up and shield him from the world until everything was okay again. He wished he could do more than give him his word.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have it under control,” Newt said through gritted teeth. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>fine.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I see your palms?” Thomas asked, gesturing to where Newt’s hands were tucked away in the pockets of his jeans.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt shook his head with hesitation, “Why?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just want to see. I want to </span>
  <em>
    <span>help.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine,” Newt said as he tugged his hands from his pockets and displayed them palm-up in front of Thomas, intense eye contact maintained as he did so. Thomas had only seen it in flashes and glimpses, but now here was the truth, displayed before him in angry red nail marks breaking the surface of Newt’s skin. “Happy now?” Newt asked as he began to pull his hands away, but Thomas reached out and grabbed one of his wrists, Newt’s fingers closing instinctively down over his palm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Happy?”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Thomas echoed on an exhale. “Newt. Are you serious?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt inhaled sharply, a muscle visibly tensing in his jaw. “I don’t know what you want me to say,” he repeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>Thomas want him to say? That it was okay? That he would just stop? That this was just a blip? No. That wasn’t how this worked. There was no easy way out. It was real and it was raw and it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>terrifying. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just answer me this,” Thomas started, idly tracing his fingertips over Newt’s palm. “Does it help? When you get the urges, does it help you control it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt sighed, “Well... I guess.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Internally, Thomas was relieved that Newt was finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally, </span>
  </em>
  <span>letting him in and letting him know what was going on inside his head, but he tried to keep his expression as neutral as possible. This was progress and he didn’t want to ruin it when they were just getting started.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How does it help?” he asked. “Just so I can understand this a little better.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s like… like a sort of tether to reality I suppose. I can’t control the urges, but I can control that. I can control that sort of pain,” Newt explained, not breaking eye contact with Thomas as he spoke.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas nodded, “So does it lessen the anxiety at all?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In a way. But it’s more of a distraction, I guess. I’ve never really thought about it. But, Tommy, you don’t have to help. I’m sure I’ll be fine—”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>want </span>
  </em>
  <span>to help,” Thomas interrupted. “I may not be sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span>, exactly, but we can work that out. I’m just sorry I didn’t catch it sooner.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s not your responsibility.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But maybe I want it to be.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The words were out before Thomas could stop and think about them, but he didn’t have the chance to regret them because his brain did a little short circuit when Newt smiled slightly, glancing back down to the ground before pulling him into a hug. And Thomas held on so tightly, in fear of him slipping through his fingers. He would never let that happen if he could help it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, Tommy. Thank you,” Newt whispered. “I don’t deserve you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t say that!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“It’s true!”</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas pulled his head back slightly to look him in the eye, only now wiping off a stray raindrop from Newt’s cheek with his thumb. “No, it’s not true.” he said, “Because no matter how much you’re hurting, you always worry about others first. You stand up when you’ve fallen and you just brush yourself off and carry on, even when things are tough. I mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>look at you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Newt. You’re still standing despite everything. You’re the strongest person I have ever met and probably ever will meet because there is no one like you and there never will be. When you walk into a room </span>
  <em>
    <span>it </span>
  </em>
  <span>doesn’t light up, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>do, and you’re the only one I ever see. You make me feel so much I sometimes wonder how you can possibly have any more to give away. But you do. You always do. You’re always </span>
  <em>
    <span>giving</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Newt, so let me give this to you. Don’t you dare say you don’t deserve it because you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do. </span>
  </em>
  <span>You deserve it more than anyone. And I would be honoured if I could be the one to give it to you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment's silence, punctuated by the sound of the light drizzle and their combined breaths against the gentle breeze. Newt’s eyes locked onto Thomas’s, shades of copper against honey, melted into the golden rays of a sunset and sprinkled with cinnamon. Thomas is drowning in those eyes, just like he knew he could. And there is nothing, </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>that he wouldn’t do for this boy if only to see those eyes shine with so much life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt’s hand came up to rest on Thomas’s cheek, eyes fluttering closed as he leaned in and pressed their lips together so delicately, the pressure barely there, as if asking permission. And Thomas kissed him back without hesitation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was heat and fire, passion and desire. Sparks of electricity emitted from everywhere Newt’s skin met his own, a wildfire raging in his heart. It felt as if someone had let loose a nest of butterflies in Thomas’s stomach, his nerves humming like a live wire. And he would never have dreamed of asking for anything more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They pulled apart eventually, foreheads coming to rest together as they allowed their intensified breathing to slowly return to its usual pace. And there was so much </span>
  <em>
    <span>life </span>
  </em>
  <span>in the eyes he loved, which gazed into his in their own silent promise and poured in so much emotion that Thomas was no longer sure if the dampness on his cheeks was just from the rain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I guess that means you believe me?” Thomas whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt’s face broke out into the most captivating smile, lighting up his entire face and setting his eyes ablaze. “I guess that means I do,” he said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And, as Thomas pulled Newt in for another kiss, he had so much reason to believe that there is a light at the end of this tunnel; that despite all the grief, the pain and the heartache, there is hope. And where there is hope, there is love. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Remember to reach out if you're struggling. Here are some sites you can visit for help with OCD:<br/>https://youngminds.org.uk/find-help/conditions/ocd/<br/>https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/about-ocd/<br/>https://iocdf.org/ocd-finding-help/<br/>Don't suffer in silence! Much love xx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0046"><h2>46. forty six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Apologies for the delay. I started back at college last week and have been busy with that and a couple of other things I've been working on that I might share on here someday.<br/>Anyways, I hope you enjoy this one. It's from each of their perspectives and probably one of my favourite chapters.<br/>xx</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>NEWT:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt had been entirely lost for words after everything Thomas had said to him, unable to form a big enough thank you to express exactly how much it meant to him, so, naturally, he had done the only thing he could think to do in that moment and kissed him. He kissed him and kissed him and kissed him and Thomas </span>
  <em>
    <span>reciprocated. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was something about the way Newt’s nerves practically burned and crackled with energy every time Thomas’s fingertips so much as brushed over the exposed skin of his neck, and even how they rested so carefully over the fabric of his jumper when hands found his waist and held him impossibly closer. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He allowed a hand to find purchase in brown locks of hair, and smiled into the kiss, unable to tame his frantic heartbeat at the searing sensation of scorching heat and energy rushing between their bodies like a tsunami flooding his senses. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rain began to settle comfortably in their hair as they stood outside in the drizzling rain, soaking through their clothes enough to make Newt shiver slightly despite the rush of what felt like molten lava through his veins. It was only at that moment that he realised just how close he and Thomas were still standing, faces just inches apart and bodies pressed flush against each other in a subconscious rebellion against the elements. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could see it so clearly in Thomas’s eyes now: the promise that he would help Newt work out the mess that his head was in, no matter what and no matter when, and it shone so brightly that it could have stolen the only remaining breath from his lungs in one single surge of energy. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From here, Newt could count every mole and every freckle scattered across the delicate cheekbones in front of him, like a map of all the stars in the sky; he hadn’t realised quite how elegantly distributed the infinitesimal markings really were until now, and he took the opportunity to marvel at it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should go inside,” Thomas whispered through pink, swollen lips, even though his eyes were screaming otherwise. “Don’t want you catching a cold.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bloody hell, Tommy. You bring me out here and kiss me like that in the rain and then you have the nerve to talk to me about catching a cold?” Newt teased, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, and he watched as Thomas’s eyes flicked down to where his tongue darted out to swipe subconsciously across his bottom lip.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> kissed </span>
  <em>
    <span>me</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” said Thomas.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt pulled him in by his jacket (which was actually Newt’s own jacket, but that didn’t quite compute at that moment) for another quick kiss. “Oh, I did. And don’t you forget it,” he mumbled against Thomas’s lips, laughing as the boy rolled his eyes in response.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It hit him, then, that he hadn’t actually laughed like that in what felt like a very long time, but enjoyed the spark it sent running up his spine when he felt Thomas’s own smile pressed against his cheek. It was a gentle reminder that there is light even in the darkest of times, if only you know where to search for it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wasn’t joking, though,” said Thomas, pulling back slightly to look Newt in the eye. “We should go back inside.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt pouted, reaching out to wipe away a raindrop that had settled above Thomas’s eyebrow, “Hmm. Can I wear your hoodie? The huge grey one? Seeing as you like stealing my jacket.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If you come inside, you can. You look so adorable in that hoodie you know that, right?” Thomas said, reaching to take Newt’s hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wish I could say the same about you in my jacket.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas gently nudged their shoulders together, “Rude.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m kidding, it really suits you,” Newt turned his head to plant a feather-light kiss on his cheek as they walked, aiming for the mole he’d been studying just moments previous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And so the two boys retreated back into the gloominess of their dorm room, and back into the strong presence of grief which enveloped them in a tingling embrace and was quick to ease the magic they had felt out there in the rain. But Newt had learnt something in that impromptu moment outside: vulnerability is okay, and pain doesn’t have to be lonely if you’re prepared to open yourself up. Because when you do that, you allow the light to come flooding in and drown out the darkness moment by moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>MINHO:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho’s two best friends entered the dorm room when he was sitting with his legs hanging freely off the edge of his bunk bed, waiting for them to return but not in the least bit surprised that they had snuck away shortly after dinner. He didn’t mind the fact that they would always be each other’s first choice, nor did he mind that they kept him mostly out of the loop about what was going on between them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho isn’t blind. He sees the fleeting glances and lingering touches which neither boy would ever do with any but each other, and he sees the way that both of them look at the other as if they personally hung all the shuck stars in the sky. But he doesn’t mind because he’s never seen two people who are so obviously meant to be together, and he will always stand in full support of his best friends’ choices, even if it means he is sometimes watching from the sidelines. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey shanks,” he said, jumping down from the top bunk. “Why are you so… </span>
  <em>
    <span>wet?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The slight blush that crept up to Thomas’s cheeks was answer enough, but Minho will never pass on the chance to tease these two. “Uh, because it’s raining?” said Thomas, more like a question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Riiight. Everything okay?” asked Minho.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas nodded, shrugging off the jacket that Minho didn’t fail to notice that he’d stolen from Newt, “Everything’s fine. We were just talking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho gets it. They needed to talk </span>
  <em>
    <span>in private </span>
  </em>
  <span>and possibly do a little more than talking as well, considering the pink tinge to both of their lips. He is happy for them, but he understands why they haven’t told him. Now isn’t exactly the best time with the fragile mental state some of them are in, so he completely respects that choice.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you run with Finn today?” Newt asked Minho as he slipped Thomas’s hugely oversized grey hoodie over his head. “Or are you going tonight in the rain?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We went this morning and we’re going later this evening,” said Minho.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Over the past twenty four hours, Minho had reconnected with the boy who had defended him back in the room in WICKED headquarters before the guard had taken him away. Finn was also a lover of running, and the two of them had already been twice since being back home, which felt like the start of what could be one powerful friendship.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Replacing us so soon?” Thomas teased.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Minho just rolled his eyes, tossing a bundle of blankets and pillows onto the floor to start making a little nook, “Yeah, bored of you already. Sorry about that.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oi! That’s mean!” Newt gasped as he threw a pillow at Minho’s head, hitting him straight on the side of his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m kidding!” he said. “You guys are irreplaceable anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This encouraged a ridiculous cooing from Thomas who tried to pull Minho into a hug but was met with his arms being swatted away for his audacity, that shank. Thomas simply cackled, Newt rolling his eyes at them both and, yes, these two most certainly were irreplaceable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>SONYA:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Grief is isolating and Sonya is fed up with being alone. With Aris hardly talking to anyone and Harriet distracting herself with the new arrivals, Sonya was very much alone. At first, the isolation hadn’t felt so suffocating and had given her the opportunity to actually sort through the mess of her thoughts, but now it felt like it was choking her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She had been sitting on her bed with her knees tucked up to her chest when her brother had entered the dorm room with Thomas, and just hearing the two of them joking around with Minho had brought a smile to her face. So Sonya made the decision to not be alone anymore because she missed her friends and she missed smiling and she missed laughing and she missed… Teresa. She missed Teresa but Teresa was gone. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anyway. Let’s not go back into that endless abyss of grief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mind if I join?” she asked the three boys upon arrival at the space between the bunk bed and Newt’s bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt’s face practically lit up and he immediately leapt to his feet from his place beside Thomas to pull her into a hug. “Of course you can,” he said. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sonya sighed, “I’m managing. What about you guys?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We’re managing,” Thomas echoed with a small smile and Newt nodded his agreement, pulling away from the hug to briefly look Sonya in the eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sidled up beside Minho who greeted her with what might have been a reassuring fist-bump and offered her a blanket which she took willingly to drape over her knees as she huddled in this momentary nook of comfort. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And Sonya decided that if there was anywhere she could be right now, it would be here. It would be here where her grief is shared and her friends feel more like family than ever. They may have lost a member of their family, but she had hope that it might eventually bring them closer than ever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just seeing Newt beside Thomas filled her with so much warmth; the air between them was charged with so many unspoken words. But the words didn’t need to be spoken for her to know that everything between them wasn’t just her imagination. Newt was wearing Thomas’s hoodie and Thomas kept looking at him with what could only be described as heart eyes. They made her heart melt slightly; a welcome feeling among the pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>ARIS:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>If anyone asked Aris how he was doing, he would say that he was coping fine. But, in reality, he was not fine. He was not okay and he wasn’t sure when he was going to be. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All he knew was that he was trying his damn hardest to distract himself from the horrors inside his head, and that if he goes back in there, he’s not sure that he will ever come back out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This had meant that he’d been avoiding most of his friends in fear that the darkness may consume him once again if he delves into that territory and, if he’s honest, he doesn’t feel great about it. He really hopes they’re looking after themselves.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>During the first twenty four hours of being home, Aris had isolated himself and not spoken a word to anyone if he could help it. Eventually, however, Julia had intervened and forced him to come out of his own head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He owed that girl so much already. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All of Julia’s friends appeared to be incredibly sweet, strong and supportive people, but none more so than Ash, the blond girl who had been so important in getting them out of WICKED. Not only was she kind and funny, but she also seemed to understand Aris when he didn’t even understand himself. She sympathised with him over Teresa’s death and grieved with him for his loss, but she didn’t once allow it to consume him or bring him crashing down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was similar with Julia, though she could empathise with him, having known Teresa for a couple of days herself. The combination of both Ash and Julia in his life was destined to be powerful and he knew that it would be one friendship that could last a lifetime.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>HARRIET:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Spending time with a load of new people after losing one of her best friends was not something that Harriet would have put at the top of her priority list. But, as it turned out, it had done her the world of good to refocus her energy elsewhere and to deal with her emotions in a place that isn’t contaminated with other people’s grief. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s been bouncing between people ever since they got home, helping to settle them in and explain how things work around here, including details of everything important the Swipe wiped from their memories. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Harriet was now sitting at one of the tables in the cafeteria, talking to a boy named Finn who was about to meet Minho for a run, after catching up with him over dinner. These new people had the potential of being great friends if they weren’t already, but the truth was, nobody could replace her family: Sonya and Aris and all the others. Even Teresa. She was not looking to replace her because nobody ever could. She was simply looking to fill the void that had taken over her heart with something other than darkness.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>GALLY:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gally wasn’t willing to indulge in that thing called grief. He had built his walls sky high and there was no breaking them down. He wasn’t close to Teresa and he still despised her for what she’d done to them, so why he felt even a glimmer of sorrow for her was completely beyond him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So: walls. Walls to keep away those</span>
  <em>
    <span> feelings.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The only thing he’d allowed to pass through the walls was the project that he and the other builders had started before WICKED got involved and messed around with their lives again. A project which, if they can eventually get enough resources for it, will rehouse everyone in the Safe Haven so they all have their own place and their own privacy without having to live in those dorms. It was supposed to be kept a secret until they were sure it could successfully go ahead. But now, they had eighteen new people to house and a high demand to get those huts built. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, Gally works. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He works every hour he can, and he fends off the feelings. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That’s a pretty good deal in his opinion, even though it means keeping his distance from Brenda and the others. He knows he should be there for her if he wants to be considered anything like boyfriend material in the future, but he just can’t bring himself to face her. Not whilst a cloud of darkness hovers over each of their heads and threatens to shower them in more sorrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No thank you.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>These huts need work, both physical and in planning, and they are not going to build themselves. Within a week, the first huts should be ready. Within a month, a couple of people will have proper places to live. (That’s if the PFC pulls through and supplies them with the resources they promised them to expand the Safe Haven’s.) Within four months, everyone can move out of those dorms. So, like he said: work.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>FRYPAN:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Frypan retreated to the one place he feels the most comfortable: the kitchens. There was something so comforting about the familiarity of this workspace and the monotony of preparing the food, and there really was nowhere else he could find the comfort this provides him. With everything that had happened recently, it was a relief to have this normality back in his life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As he exited the kitchen, Frypan raised a hand in greeting to both Harriet and Gally who both responded with a curt nod of their heads. Frypan himself had never been as close to Teresa as some of his friends were, but he knew how much they were all hurting, because it hurt him, too. She was family, after all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was still drizzling slightly as he stepped outside into the ever-darkening evening, embraced by a cool March chill that had him longing for his coat as he walked quickly towards the shower block which was illuminated with a small tealight hanging from the entrance. But, as he was just approaching the entrance, he bumped into Brenda who had a towel wrapped around her neck and wet hair clinging to her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh,” she said. “Hey Fry, I didn’t see you there.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nah, it’s alright. Are you, uh… are you alright?” asked Frypan, ducking into the doorway and out of the rain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda nodded, “Hmm. I will be. It’s just hard, you know, with everyone else so upset as well. It makes it difficult to breathe if you know what I mean.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, I get it. Just take it easy, yeah? Take your time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She smiled at him then, pulling him into a quick hug before heading off into the evening with glassy eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>BRENDA:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda wasn’t sure how she expected to react to grief this intense, but it probably wouldn’t have been like this. She’d lost count of the amount of times she’d had to curl up in a ball in her bed and just cry; that’s appeared to be the best way to let everything out and to understand what’s going on inside her head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Part of her hates Teresa for what she did to them and what she is still doing to all of their friends even now that she’s gone, because her presence is still so tangible despite… despite what happened. But another part of Brenda is so broken because her friend just </span>
  <em>
    <span>died. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And it’s not just that she died, it’s that she killed herself to save the rest of them when she didn’t even have to. She could have got onboard that Berg and flown home with them and everything would be okay.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Except, maybe it wouldn’t have been okay. Would she ever have been accepted back into their family after what she did to them? Would anything have been the same? Brenda knew almost for certain that the answer was no. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And that managed to break her heart just a little more. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They’re devastated now that she’s gone, but they would probably have rejected her if she were alive… And that’s the saddest part of all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Brenda, hey, Brenda come here,” someone says as she stumbles into their arms, tears streaming down her cheeks and blurring her vision. She was pulled to the floor and held in someone’s arms as she sobbed for the girl who will never see how loved she is. She saved all of their lives and never got a single thank you for any of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve got you,” someone whispers, a girl, maybe Sonya. “Let it all out, I’ve got you. It’s okay, you’re okay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wished that it were true; she wished that she really was okay. But she wasn’t and she doesn’t know when or if she’s going to be. So, for now, she allows herself to cry into her friend’s shoulder and have her hair played with as she lets everything spill out of her and prove to the world that she is broken.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>THOMAS:</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At some point, Thomas isn’t sure when, all nine of them gathered together in the tiny space between the two beds for the first time since they’d all been together on the Berg. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So much had changed since then. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The reality of Teresa’s death hit them all at different stages and at different intensities, and only now were they coming together in solidarity. They didn’t speak much about anything important; they didn’t have to. Just knowing that they were all here for each other was enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As it grew darker and the evening grew longer, Thomas’s eyelids began to droop and his head somehow made its way into Newt’s lap where delicate fingers played with his hair and sent him further into his stupor. He was vaguely aware of the voices blending together in the background, and with his eyes closed and his focus fixed solely on the sensations through his hair, Thomas felt everything else slowly begin to fade away.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He must have fallen asleep. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he awoke, it was to a hand gently stroking his cheek and Newt’s soft whisperings for him to wake up. Thomas’s eyelids fluttered open, and he slowly came to realise what had happened. With a groan, he pulled himself upright and ran a hand across his face, squinting into the darkness of their dorm room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright?” Newt asked with a smile which could only be described as fond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm,” mumbled Thomas. “How long was I asleep for?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“About half an hour, I reckon,” said Newt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Half an hour. That explains why all of their friends seemed to be getting ready for bed, leaving the two boys alone in the mass of blankets and pillows on the floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry for falling asleep on you,” he mumbled, still half-asleep. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘S fine, Tommy, really,” Newt said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “But maybe you should think about going to bed now, yeah?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas nodded, already feeling his eyelids drooping back closed as he willed his body to stand up, swaying on the spot, and forced himself to join his friends in their routine for bed. He waved off the comments that were sent his way about him falling asleep on Newt, drifting through the motions as he made his way towards his bed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas half expected to fall asleep as soon as his head touched his pillow, but instead he found himself shivering beneath his blankets and missing the warmth he’d fallen asleep to. So, without really giving it much thought, Thomas rolled out of his own bed and climbed in beside Newt who was practically radiating heat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re still wearing my hoodie,” Thomas mumbled in greeting as Newt immediately curled into his side upon his arrival.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mhm. ‘S warm,” Newt whispered.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Good.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment of silence, the only noise coming from the last few people heading to bed, and their combined soft breathing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why you in my bed?” Newt asked eventually, breaking the silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“‘Cause you’re warm and mine’s cold.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y’know the others are gonna talk ‘bout us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t care what they think.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt hummed in agreement, “M’kay.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait,” said Thomas, suddenly a little more alert than before as he pushed his body up off the mattress. “Unless </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> care?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t care, just go to sleep,” Newt murmured, tugging Thomas back down beside him. “Stop worrying so bloody much.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not worrying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes you are.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fine, you’re not,” Newt sighed. “Now go to sleep or I’ll kick you out of my bed.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas gasped, “You wouldn’t.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I would.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A pause, before Thomas asked, “Would you really, though?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Unless you want to find out, I suggest you </span>
  <em>
    <span>shut up,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Newt whispered, the threat falling flat as he nuzzled his head against Thomas’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas didn’t respond, simply wrapping an arm around Newt’s waist in fear of actually being pushed out of this pocket of warmth. He wasn’t sure that Newt actually would, but he didn’t want to test that theory.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As Thomas drifted off to sleep for the second time that evening, all he could think about was how much Newt was unknowingly keeping Thomas above the surface and preventing him from drowning in the pain of losing Teresa.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That pain wasn’t just going to disappear, Thomas knew that. But he’d come to accept the pain, and could only dream of a time where everything hurt a little less. Until then, however, he is content to heal right here beside the boy who keeps him afloat.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I love the idea of Thomas irritating Newt and Newt trying and failing to be annoyed at him about it.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0047"><h2>47. forty seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The day they’d chosen for Teresa’s memorial came around quickly—</span>
  <em>
    <span>too quickly</span>
  </em>
  <span>—and Newt knew that today was going to be hard to get through, even if it was supposed to give them all some closure and guide them slowly into acceptance. Everyone had been mysteriously quiet all morning and all through a morning of work which they’d gradually returned to, simply for something to do with themselves, and the anticipation had been building and building all the way up until now. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt had been overcome with the urges to check on his friends today, helped only by Thomas and Minho who helped him rationalise his thoughts, along with everything Molly had been telling him to try over the past few days. His palms were still red with nail marks from when he absolutely couldn’t help himself but, overall, it did feel as if he was getting better. Some days were better than others, but that was to be expected.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This, quite frankly, was not one of the better days. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Even though he could see every one of his friends in one glance around him, the strong sense of grief was overwhelming and he couldn’t help the anxiety coursing through his veins as he slowly closed his fingers down onto the sore skin of his palms. He closed his eyes, anticipating the sting and consequent momentary relief it would provide him, but the motion was cut short by a hand working its way beneath his fingers and sliding the palm against Newt’s own, entwining their fingers together. And that was enough to bring him crashing back to reality. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Admittedly, Newt relied heavily on Thomas to help contain the urges that plagued his mind too often for comfort, unable to do it himself when the anxiety was at its peak. Even when Newt woke him up in the middle of the night, trembling with anxiety, Thomas was there for him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But now, Newt needed to be there for Thomas; he’d never seen him so quiet before, and could tell that there was something brewing inside him, just waiting until this afternoon to spill out; the time of the memorial. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Molly had allowed them plenty of time to deal with their grief before planning this memorial, but it still felt so soon; so abrupt. A week had gone by since Teresa’s passing, but that fact didn’t make this any easier. This could never </span>
  <em>
    <span>be </span>
  </em>
  <span>any easier. Not when it came to saying goodbye to a friend; to the person who’d saved his life but he never got the chance to thank for it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>All of Teresa’s closest friends stood at the front of the throng of people who had gathered to say goodbye, and Newt was overwhelmed by the amount of people whose lives Teresa had touched; it had to be almost everyone in the entirety of the Safe Haven, including all the new arrivals whose lives she had helped save. Newt cast his gaze over all the people standing near the front of the crowd: Julia and Ash, some of the people Teresa taught alongside, and a couple of the little Immunes who already had tears streaking their cheeks and flowers in their arms. But he couldn’t keep looking at them; he couldn’t bear to see his own pain reflected on another’s face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vince cleared his throat, standing beside Molly as they faced the group, expressions downcast and solemn. “Thank you, everyone,” he said. “I would like to welcome you to this memorial to celebrate the life of our beloved Teresa Agnes who passed away last week. Teresa was a dear friend to us all and a major part of our family, and so we come together today to reflect on her life and honour her memory. Teresa not only saved lives, but proved to us all that friendship is and always will be one of the most important forces in our lives. She fought nobly to save her friends, despite the detriment to herself, and that shall never be forgotten.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A single tear slipped slowly down Newt’s cheek, though he made no move to brush it aside. His fingers tightened around Thomas’s.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, we have a few people who would like to give a speech in Teresa’s honour and share a few of their favourite memories of her life,” said Vince. “Aris, whenever you’re ready.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris had asked if he could be the first to give a speech, and nobody had even tried to deny him of this; how could they when this was the boy whose memories of Teresa ran further than anyone's?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His hands shook ever so slightly as he clutched onto the small piece of paper on which he’d scribbled his notes onto as for what he wanted to say, but Newt suspected that it wasn’t nerves for speaking in front of all these people. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No. He was nervous because he wanted to get this speech right for Teresa. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>needed</span>
  </em>
  <span> to get this right for Teresa. And Newt’s heart really went out for him, because he had had to witness both of his best friends dying in front of him, and experienced the pain of losing the people who meant the absolute world to him, and yet here he was. Here he was, honouring Teresa’s memory and bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“For those who don’t know me, my name is Aris Jones,” he said, voice surprisingly steady. “I was part of the Maze trials administered by WICKED, and although myself and Teresa never came face to face during the Trials, we knew each other well from the time we spent together before they started. Most of our lives were spent in WICKED’s possession, but the best part of our lives was spent out of it. The best part of Teresa’s life was the six months spent here with all of us, and I know that because she not only blossomed as a person but as a friend, too. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She became the kind of person who was well loved and respected, and who is and always will be a hero to so many. She always strived to succeed in doing what was going to be best for everyone, and although some of her approaches to this weren’t exactly the best, she proved that her heart was in the right place in the end. Teresa saved my life and the lives of all our friends, and fought valiantly to ensure that her errors were corrected, even though she wasn’t entirely to blame for them. I think what I’m trying to say here is that Teresa cared so much about everyone and about every</span>
  <em>
    <span>thing,</span>
  </em>
  <span> that her heart overpowered her head. But we are not here today to reflect on her mistakes – no, we’re here today to remember Teresa as the incredibly smart, funny and caring person that she was, and the impact she had on all of our lives.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris took a deep breath before continuing. “There’s just one moment, one snapshot of her life that I would like to share, which happened a couple of weeks after we arrived here in the Safe Haven. I remember… she was dancing to something Brenda was playing on her guitar, the campfire lit behind her as the sun set just below the horizon. There was something so magical about that evening, where we had complete freedom from everything we’d been put through. Teresa was dancing and she took my hand, forcing me to dance with her even though I was completely terrible and still am.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aris smiled sadly, his eyes distant as his memories transported back into that moment in time, “She took me by surprise when she pulled into a hug, as if something had flipped inside of her. And she whispered something to me. She said… She said that we deserve this. That we all deserve something this good. Teresa loved this place with all her heart because it symbolised our freedom. To her, it showed that there was hope left in this world. She passed on her hope for this place and her hope for all of you; all the people she loved so, so much, and it pains me that she is never going to get to see how much of a difference she made to all of our lives. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I would give anything just to be able to tell her I love her one more time, because I never said it enough. It pains me to say goodbye without ever thanking her for simply existing in my life. So thank you, Teresa, for all the hope and happiness you brought into our lives. There won’t be a day that goes by where I don’t miss you and wish that you were still here with us; to share the freedom you helped us achieve. You deserve to be here to see it. I love you so much, Teresa. Thank you for everything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas stepped up in the place where Aris had been standing, tears still streaming down his cheeks and hands trembling by his sides as he stared down at the ground, seemingly paralysed to the spot. Newt was seconds away from rushing up here to pull him into a hug when Thomas’s gaze finally fell on his, eyes clearing as Newt gave him a nod in reassurance. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He could do this. Newt knew he could.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a deep breath and a wipe at his eyes, Thomas began to speak. “I will always remember the day Teresa came up in the box in the Maze, just a day after myself. I could tell from the moment I saw her that she was different, and it wasn’t just because she was the first girl in a Glade full of boys. We were physically connected with our telepathy but I felt emotionally connected, as well. And I knew that I must have known her before my memories were taken for us to have such a connection, which is why I felt protective of her for so long until I found my feet. But I was wrong. Teresa didn’t need protecting because she could protect herself much better than I ever could. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"She was so brave and so… </span>
  <em>
    <span>strong</span>
  </em>
  <span>, despite everything we were going through. </span>
  <span>Even when she was thrown in the deep end with a bunch of strangers, she kept herself afloat and did what she needed to do to survive. It was never just herself that she was protecting, though. God, no, it was never for</span>
  <em>
    <span> her</span>
  </em>
  <span> that she did everything she did. Teresa cared so much about everyone, and did everything she could do to make things right in the world.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas wiped a stray tear of his cheek before continuing, “But I don’t want to linger too long on that. Because like Aris said, the best part of her life was most certainly the part spent here. It allowed our friendship to develop and our connection to grow into something that I might have called similar to siblings if I hadn’t kissed her in the Scorch all those months ago.” This statement provoked a rumble of soft laughter across the crowd, even bringing a small smile to Newt’s face, “But that aside, she really was something incredibly special and I can’t even begin to put into words how much of a hole she’s going to leave in all of our hearts. But I know you all feel it, too. It’s the pain which proves that we’ve lost someone irreplaceable, and who meant so much to us all. Because that was Teresa. And I miss her so, so much and I don’t know when it’s going to hurt any less or if it ever will.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thomas gave himself a moment to breathe, meeting Newt’s gaze and managing a smile beneath the tears slowly spilling down his cheeks, “I’m going to miss the girl who hated mornings with a passion and was always grumpy until she ate something. I’m going to miss the person who could talk endlessly about the things she loved, and who put everything into what mattered most to her. But most importantly, I’m going to miss having my friend around. All I can hope now is that she is at peace, in a place where pain and guilt cannot consume her. You are forgiven for everything, Teresa, and I hope you rest well.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tears pricked shamelessly at Newt’s eyes as Thomas finished talking and made his back towards him, his pain so visibly displayed across his face that Newt couldn’t help but instinctively wrap an arm around his waist. Thomas leaned into the touch, resting his head against Newt’s shoulder as they watched Sonya take her place and begin to talk with her chin held high. In all honesty, Newt didn’t know how they had managed to pull off such emotive speeches, somehow capturing their friendships with Teresa so perfectly. Newt still didn’t know exactly what he was going to say; he just hoped the words came when he was standing up there. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you think Teresa managed to be a hero in the end?” Thomas whispered so quietly that Newt would have missed it if they hadn’t been pressed so close together.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes,” Newt replied just as quietly. “Yes, I think she did.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I wish she could have heard all this. I wish she could have known how much we love her before it was too late.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After all the speeches, including one from a little girl called Mia who managed to tear at all their heartstrings with just a few highly emotive words, everyone came to gather around the place on the stone wall that was dedicated to Teresa. Her name was carefully carved under the words </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘in loving memory’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>and flowers were eventually placed just below. There was something almost freeing about it all, which Newt would never have expected to happen, as if they had moved a step closer to some kind of closure. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Newt stood between Sonya and Thomas as they undertook a minute’s silence, both of their hands tightly gripping his own like they were each other’s anchor. Together, they silently reflected on the life of Teresa Agnes; the girl who always managed to right her wrongs in the end, but who couldn’t save herself from her mistakes. The girl whose light had gone out too soon, after shining so brightly for too briefly. Newt had hoped that the lid had been sealed on all the loss and destruction WICKED left behind them, but he had been wrong. The lid wasn’t screwed on tight enough, and Teresa fell prisoner to the cruelty of this world, just like she’d watched so many succumb to in the past. But now it’s been sealed once and for all, and who do they have to thank for that?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Teresa Agnes.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“This is the song that Teresa always begged me to play at campfires,” Brenda said, guitar balanced on her thigh as she addressed the group gathered by the recently lit campfire, night drawing ever nearer. “It became almost a tradition at some point for her to request this song, so Teresa, this is ‘Heroes’ and I hope you know how much of a hero you are to us.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Absolute silence fell upon the Safe Haven as Brenda prepared herself and her guitar, the only sound coming from the soothing crackle of the fire and the distant waves beating down onto the shore. This was the way Teresa would have wanted things to end; at peace, with her favourite music and the people she loved most in the world all gathered together in unity. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brenda began to sing the first few lines of the almost haunting song, the melody carrying in the gentle breeze and caressing the air with it’s silky bars. Her voice broke slightly at the end of one verse:</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Though nothing, nothing will keep us together</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>We can beat them, forever and ever</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, we can be heroes, just for one day.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>But, as naturally as if they’d been formally told to do so, her friends all joined her in singing, helping guide her through when she wasn’t strong enough to do so alone. Their voices combined sent shivers down Newt’s spine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was them proving to the world that they will come back stronger.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was them closing off this chapter of their lives.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was them saying goodbye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Maybe Teresa was gone but she would stay with them forever, here inside every heart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They had been through so much pain; so much heartache.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But now it’s over.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now it’s time to breathe.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The saddest chapter I've ever written :( I really just wanted to bring across their forgiveness for Teresa and how they're trying to make their peace as they grieve for her. <br/>But hey, the next one is the epilogue and the final chapter which I promise is going to be a lot more uplifting because things happen and people talk and everything ends as it should have been in canon. <br/>Xx</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0048"><h2>48. epilogue</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>buckle up, this one's a bit of a rollercoaster ride.<br/>i'm not even going to apologise for the amount of cheesiness. they deserve it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <b>EPILOGUE:</b>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>ONE MONTH LATER</p><p> </p><p>Time is always the best cure for a grief-stricken heart. </p><p>The pain slowly began to ease as the days went on, and life became easier to get on with with every passing week. Now, just over a month after Teresa’s memorial, all of Newt’s friends were somewhat back to their old selves, though were still carrying with them the intense loss of their friend. </p><p>That wasn’t going to go away quickly.</p><p> But there was something they’d come to realise which was that life shouldn’t be put on pause to deal with the grief, because life goes on. And Newt had to agree that everyone seemed so much brighter now that they were out of that deep, dark hole they’d crawled into after Teresa’s death, himself included. </p><p>The urges he’d had to check on his friends have been getting so much better, though Newt would put that down to Thomas’s ongoing support and patience through every high and every low because there have been so many of both and he was exactly what Newt needed the most. But Newt had also been there for Thomas through every nightmare and every surge of grief, holding him when he needed it and providing a shoulder to cry on. Together, they helped cure each other’s heartache.</p><p>Now, both boys lay under the canopy of stars above them, having escaped their dorm room at this early hour of the morning and taken a walk along the deserted beach, waves lapping languidly at the shore just a few meters away. Newt’s head rested on Thomas’s shoulder, one of his hands playing idly with the blond strands of hair and the other entwined with Newt’s. They had both slipped on hoodies against the slight breeze, though the heat pooling between them was surely enough to warm them both through.</p><p>“Hey, Newt?” Thomas whispered into the quiet of the early morning.</p><p>“Hmm?” he mumbled in response.</p><p>“I need to talk to you about something.”</p><p>Newt lifted his head from Thomas’s shoulder, consequently removing the hand from his hair, resting his head in his hand and elbow on the ground to look him in the eye. Thomas also shifted position, rolling onto his side.</p><p>“Yeah? What is it?” asked Newt.</p><p>Thomas smiled, his eyes reflecting the stars in the sky, “Just that… I like this. I like <em> you. </em>A lot, actually. I like you one hell of a lot, Newt, if that wasn’t already obvious. So I guess I just wanted to ask: what are we, exactly?”</p><p>Newt’s eyes widened in surprise, watching as Thomas bit down on his lower lip while the question hung tangibly in the air around them, charged and loaded and electric. It took him a second to recompose himself before he replied, “Well, what do you want us to be?”</p><p>“I just want <em> you, </em> Newt. I want to be able to hold your hand and kiss you in front of our friends. I want to be able to call you mine and for you to call me yours; to be your boyfriend through whatever that entails, and prove to you every day that you mean absolutely <em> everything </em> to me and more. But only if you want that, too.”</p><p>“Of course I want that too,” Newt said quickly, earning himself a shy smile from Thomas who looked up at him through thick eyelashes. “I know I said a while ago that I wanted to wait, but… I think we’ve waited long enough.”</p><p>“You do?” Thomas asked, almost tentatively.</p><p>“Of course I do,” said Newt. “The way I feel about you… it’s only intensified and it only ever will. I’m not good at bloody romantic speeches like you are, Tommy, but you need to know that everything you said before… I want it all, and more.”</p><p>“I like the sound of <em> ‘and more’ </em>.”</p><p>“Focus!” Newt lightly flicked Thomas’s forehead, eliciting a laugh and small grumble of complaint which fell flat as he leaned forward and pressed his lips against Newt’s for just a moment.</p><p>“Sorry, I couldn’t resist,” said Thomas. “You looked so adorable, and you know I love when you wear my hoodie.”</p><p>Newt felt his cheeks heat up and glanced down at the hoodie he’d forgotten he’d stolen once again, the fabric of the sleeves bundled up at his wrists where it was slightly too big for him. It was true; Thomas told him every time he wore it how ‘cute’ he looked which he never tried to be subtle about, even in front of all their friends. </p><p>“So,” Thomas said, breaking the momentary silence that had settled comfortably between them. “Does that mean we’re… all in now? Like boyfriends?”</p><p>Newt couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face at seeing how cutely nervous Thomas seemed to be at asking him that question. “Yeah, like boyfriends,” he said, leaning forward to rest a hand on the side of his <em> boyfriend’s </em>face. “You can call me yours and I can call you mine.”</p><p>His words were met with a pair of soft lips to his own, sealing the promise in an explosion of burning heat and intimacy. This was them writing the melody to the symphony of their lives; the crescendo which ignited a spark in their hearts and grew like a wildfire, burning and blazing with every orchestrated note. They were the conductors to the beautiful song they were creating and will continue to create as life moves on, punctuated by the sound of waves and the echo of laughter which will fly high throughout their ever-flowing melody. </p><p>No song had ever been more perfect than theirs, Newt thought, as the music flowed between them, effortless and abundantly, enough for the blood to soar in his ears and rush passionately through his veins with every caress of lips. Their bodies were the orchestra now, allowing everything else to fade into the distance, beyond the horizon and into the night sky. </p><p>When they pulled apart to breathe, foreheads resting together and breaths mingling, Newt let out a small laugh, “You know how bloody cheesy that all was, right?”</p><p>“Yeah, I do,” Thomas mumbled. “But would you have it any other way?”</p><p>“What are you implying?”</p><p>Thomas traced his thumb across Newt’s cheek, circling down to his lips as he followed the motion with his eyes. “That you’re actually a romantic at heart.”</p><p>“Am I the only one?”</p><p>“Nope. But I guess that’s why we fit, you and I.”</p><p>Newt laughed, kissing him on the nose and earning himself an adoring smile, “Now who’s being cheesy, huh?”</p><p>“Yeah, sorry. But it’s not my fault you’re so irresistibly enticing.”</p><p>Heat rose to Newt’s cheeks for the second time that morning, a light pink dusting against his pale skin, “Shut up, Tommy.”</p><p>“As much as I love making you blush, you really should learn to take a compliment, babe,” Thomas said, tilting Newt’s chin up so their gaze met once again before pulling him in for another kiss.</p><p>Newt’s comeback remark about being called ‘babe’ died on his tongue, but he made a mental note to reiterate his initial point at a time where his mouth wasn’t entirely compromised.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>A lot had happened in the last month; a lot more than Newt would have expected to happen in such a short amount of time. For one thing, the builders had started and completed the huts for all of Julia’s friends, with some of the resources the PFC provided them with to make it possible. Another thing was the fact that the PFC had taken over the WICKED base, entirely dismantling the organisation and recovering most of the enzyme extracted from all of the Immunes. (They put it to good use with consent, which may be the only good thing that came out of WICKED’s existence.)</p><p>With all this going on, there had been plenty to distract from everything that happened with Teresa, which Newt likes to think actually helped them move further through the stages of grief which Molly artfully explained to them all shortly after the memorial. Teresa’s name still brings a wash of silence over their group, but they were finally beginning to accept it, and to return to a somewhat normal life. It still hurt to remember, but remembering was the only thing that was going to keep her memory alive.</p><p>Needless to say, the addition of eighteen new people to their Safe Haven was a little overwhelming, especially when it came to meal times. Many of Newt’s friends had established close friendships with the ‘Greenies’ as Minho called them, so it was natural that both groups would eventually merge. Sonya and Ash were close friends now, and Harriet was pretty much friends with all of them, bordering on a little closer than friends when it came to Finn which Minho liked to tease them both about endlessly. Brenda and Gally were also skimming the surface of an unlikely relationship, though Newt could tell that there was nothing serious going on between them yet. </p><p>So, you can imagine how difficult Newt anticipated it to be to gain his friends’ attention to break the news about him and Thomas. They hadn’t talked about how they were doing this, which Newt was starting to regret now that they were surrounded by everyone, with Minho’s smirking shuck face opposite them and Sonya’s watchful eye a little further down the table. They had been the first two to breakfast, and Thomas had immediately wrapped an arm around Newt’s waist and left in there even when everyone began to trickle in through the double doors of the cafeteria. Newt leaned into the warmth beside him, tucking his head into the crook of his boyfriend’s neck once he’d finished eating his breakfast, occasionally sipping a mug of coffee. </p><p>He couldn’t help but think back to just a month ago as Thomas rambled on to Minho about something or other, closing his eyes against the new fluorescent lighting they had been graced with. One month ago, he had sat in this exact spot as anxiety ate away at his insides, his nails scratching the surface of his palm until he realised what he was doing and remembered what Thomas had told him. There had been many mental battles against the urges, which he tried not to chide himself for if he could help it, because he knew it helped to rationalise. He’d actually found rationalising to be even more comforting than the checking itself, as it didn’t come with the burden of regret and shame. That was definitely the thing that helped him the most.</p><p>“You’re not sleeping are you, Newt?”</p><p>Minho’s voice startled him slightly and he pulled his head up from Thomas’s shoulder to glare at his friend. “I’m not, actually.”</p><p>“It’s fine, babe, you can sleep if you want. We were up early,” Thomas said with a mischievous smile</p><p>Newt rolled his eyes, “Don’t call me babe.”</p><p>“What about honey?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Sweetheart?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Cupcake?”</p><p>Newt groaned, lightly smacking his arm, “Ew, Tommy, <em> stop </em>!”</p><p>“Sorry, sorry, I’ll stop,” Thomas said as he pulled Newt closer against him and planted a kiss on his cheek which most certainly did not go unnoticed by Minho. </p><p>He had been watching them with a smirk until that point in which his mouth fell open, gawking at the pair of them with a fork full of food abandoned halfway up.</p><p>“Close your mouth, Min, you’re letting the flies in,” Newt said with a grin.</p><p>Thomas practically cackled and Minho immediately snapped his jaw closed, trying to repress his own smile but failing miserably. “Slinthead,” he grumbled, finally shovelling his forkful of food into his mouth. He wasn’t the only one who was now staring at them, and Newt realised that they should probably confirm their suspicions whilst they had everyone here together.</p><p>“Are you ready to tell them?” he whispered to Thomas who nodded and cleared his throat, tightening his hold on Newt’s waist.</p><p>His expression was so precious; excitable with a hint of nervousness at telling all of their friends. It wasn’t like any of them would have a negative reaction, because this was the most supportive group of people to ever walk this Earth, so neither boy was worried about that. But their opinion mattered because they were family.</p><p>“So, uh… we have something to tell you guys,” said Thomas.</p><p>It was astounding, really, how quickly silence spread across the table from end to end as everyone halted their conversation to hear what Thomas had to say. Newt found himself shrinking slightly under almost thirty pairs of eyes, possibly more from the curious onlookers who had heard them all fall silent.</p><p>Thomas gulped but didn’t seem to let it bother him, “Uh, wow, okay. So, um, we wanted to tell you guys something.” He paused for effect, or maybe just to make sure that everyone understood what he was saying, “So, the thing is… me and Newt. We’re together now.”</p><p>The effect was almost immediate.</p><p>The first person Newt acknowledged was Sonya who instantly started squealing and cooing at them both, standing up to pull Newt into a backwards hug. Minho simply crossed his arms at them, nodding in support with that stupid smirk on his face like he’d <em> known, </em> that infuriating shank. A few people began clapping which was far too much fuss, really, and about a million questions were thrown their way like ‘how’ and ‘since when’, which remained unanswered for now. <em> For now </em>being the emphasis.</p><p>“Okay, slim yourselves nice and calm,” Newt said over the noise. “You’re making a scene.”</p><p>And they were. Almost everyone in the cafeteria was straining to see what was going on among the huddle of people around them, and Newt found himself leaning further into Thomas which only resulted in another round of cooing. Honestly, who knew these people could be so melodramatic? </p><p>“Tommy, how do we make them stop?” he whispered.</p><p>“I’m not sure, I can’t seem to find an off button,” Thomas murmured in response. “I didn’t think they’d react like <em> this!” </em></p><p>That didn’t seem to stop him from lapping up the compliments, though, about how cute they look together and how happy everyone is for them, unless that last comment wasn’t entirely obvious already. But, as much as Newt complained about the fuss, he didn’t really mind. How could he when all he was receiving was so much love from the people who meant the world to him? That was all he could ever ask for.</p><p>“Some of us have been waiting for this for shuckin’ months!” Minho exclaimed after a lot of the noise had finally died down and people began returning to their breakfast. “What took you so long?”</p><p>“You mean you knew?” Newt asked, voice an octave higher than usual.</p><p>Minho gave him an incredulous look, “Uh, yes. I’m not blind, Newt. You were all heart eyes over each other for months. It was revolting.”</p><p>“He’s not wrong,” Aris piped up, leaning across the tabe to talk to them. “Teresa knew as well. That night when we were in the PFC, when Thomas asked me to tell Teresa that he wanted to say goodnight to Newt... one of the last things she said to me was how adorable she thought you both are.”</p><p>The mention of Teresa’s name brought a small silence upon the table, but it wasn’t a suffocating one; it was a reminder of the person they’d lost, and another thing to add to the memory bank without needing to feel sad. The fact that Teresa had said that about them was enough to know that they would have had her support had she been here with them today.</p><p>“Thanks, Aris,” Newt said to him before taking another sip of his slightly lukewarm coffee. Thomas must have noticed his grimace as he slid his own mug between them and Newt gratefully took a small sip.</p><p>“So,” Minho said, watching the two boys with his head resting in one hand. “I better get this over with, I suppose. Thomas, I have known Newt for as long as I can remember so if you hurt him then I will personally hunt you down and make sure you pay.” He shot Thomas a sickly sweet smile before turning to Newt, speaking before either of them could protest, “Newt, don’t hurt the Greenie, ‘kay?”</p><p>“How come Tommy gets threatened but I don’t?” asked Newt.</p><p>Minho shrugged. “You’re the responsible one, Newtie.”</p><p>“I am literally sitting right here,” Thomas complained. “And hey, I <em> am </em> responsible!”</p><p>Newt turned to face his boyfriend, planting a kiss on his cheek. “You are, honey, don’t listen to him.”</p><p>“Aw, you called me honey!” </p><p>“Yeah well, don’t get used to it.”</p><p>Just as Thomas tried to pull Newt in for a kiss, however, Minho piped up from across the table. “Hey, don’t PDA in front of me while I’m trying to eat!”</p><p>Newt pulled away from Thomas with a sigh and frowned at Minho, “Did you just use PDA as a verb?”</p><p>“Yes I did,” said Minho, raising an eyebrow in a silent challenge.</p><p>“Unbelievable.”</p><p>And even though Minho pretended to be annoyed when his best friends actually did kiss in front of him, it was obvious how happy he was that they were happy, and his support meant more than either of them could ever express.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Eventually, Newt managed to escape Thomas’s clutches, much to both of their dissatisfaction, in order to get on with all the work they had to do in the fields today. Some of the early crops were ready for harvest, and Newt wasn’t prepared to fall behind on their schedule.</p><p>Even so, it had taken a great amount of effort, both mentally and physically, before Thomas finally released his hold on him with a pout and a complaint of three and half hours being far too long. Newt hadn’t known what to say to him.</p><p>(“You’re literally going to see me in three hours, like every other day,” he tried to rationalise, but Thomas wasn’t having it.</p><p>“Three and a half. And I know that, okay, don’t give me that look!”</p><p>“What look?”</p><p>Thomas reached a hand up to flick at Newt’s nose. “<em> That </em>look! You make me want to… PDA you.”</p><p>Newt frowned. “That sounded…”</p><p>“Dirty?” Minho suggested.</p><p>“I was going to go with threatening, but that works too.”</p><p>“You’re both so mean,” Thomas said with a pout.)</p><p>Apparently, news had travelled fast in the Safe Haven that day, and Newt had to deal with so many people coming up to him and asking questions or telling him how cute he and Thomas were together. It was sweet, but Newt really just wanted two things out of this day: to finish his morning of work quickly, and to spend some time with the boyfriend that everyone was talking to him about. </p><p>There was a warm breeze fluttering through the fields and ruffling up his hair, and Newt was glad that he didn’t have to work out here any longer than just this morning; sweat and grime was already starting to cling to all of their skin and it had only been three hours. It was days like this in which Newt cursed himself for loving this job. It was alright for Thomas; he spent hours out on that fishing boat at sea with a glorious breeze tugging away the humidity. Ugh. The lucky shank.</p><p>“Hey Newtie.”</p><p>His sister's voice emanated from somewhere to his right and he looked up to see her approaching with a basket full of their early blooming strawberries hanging off one arm.</p><p>“I told you to never call me that again,” Newt said in greeting.</p><p>Sonya came to crouch down beside him, ignoring his comment entirely. “So. You and <em> Tommy, </em>huh? Spill the beans.”</p><p>“There are no beans to spill, Sonya,” he said.</p><p>“Uh, I’m pretty sure there are! Like… do you love him?”</p><p>“Sonya!”</p><p>“Well, do you?”</p><p>Newt gave his sister an incredulous glance, but it was clear that she wasn’t about to move or change the subject anytime soon. “I don’t want to talk about this with you!”</p><p>“So you do?! Are you gonna tell him?”</p><p>“We literally got together today, give me a chance.”</p><p>Sonya shook her head, “You’ve practically been dating for months! I need these details, Newt, I’m your <em> sister.” </em></p><p>“Exactly, so it’s bloody weird that you’re asking me these questions.”</p><p>“It’s not bloody weird,” Sonya exclaimed. “I just wanna know!”</p><p>But Newt was having exactly none of her nonsense, and tried to playfully shove her away from him. “I’m not telling you anything, so you can take those strawberries to Frypan if you’re done.”</p><p>“Okay, I’ll go ask Thomas and dig for details,” she said, standing up from where she’d been crouched on the floor.</p><p>“Don’t bother my boyfriend!” Newt yelled after her.</p><p>Sonya simply cackled, swinging her basket as she disappeared into the distance. If Newt was telepathic with Thomas, he most certainly would be warning him of an incoming sibling who wants to know a lot more than she should. Knowing Thomas, though, he would probably end up telling her all about their relationship and Newt would have to bear the brunt of all the cooing later on. </p><p>Maybe it might be better to wrap this up for the morning and go and save Thomas.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As expected, he found Sonya chatting to Thomas in the cafeteria after he’d had taken a quick shower and made his way back down to assess the damage. But what he wasn’t expecting was to find them in a seemingly in depth discussion about something which immediately halted as soon as Sonya spotted Newt approaching them. She was seated opposite Thomas who had hardly turned around before Newt was sliding onto the bench beside him, wrapping him in an awkward sideways hug and greeting him with a kiss to his cheek.</p><p>“You’re a pest,” Newt told his sister. “I told you not to bother him.”</p><p>She gasped, holding a hand to her heart and feigning shock. “I’m not bothering anyone. Anyway, he’s practically my brother in law now, so you can’t complain.”</p><p>“We’re not married, Sonya!”</p><p>“Huh, so wouldn’t want to marry me?” Thomas asked, raising one eyebrow.</p><p>“Why, are you proposing?”</p><p>“Not yet, babe,” said Thomas. “Anyway, I wouldn’t propose to you in here. It’s not very romantic, is it?”</p><p>Newt almost choked on his water at the implications of that statement, feeling his cheeks heat up as he tactfully averted his gaze from the smug look on his sister’s face. She wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing how easy it was for Thomas to have this effect on him.</p><p>But before he could come up with a good enough retort, Minho gracefully announced his presence by clambering over the bench beside Sonya, giving Newt a good enough reason to glare at him.</p><p>“Thank God you’re here,” Sonya said to Minho. “I swear they were about to start planning their wedding.”</p><p>“That bad, huh?” he asked, turning to his two best friends with a smirk.</p><p>Thomas frowned as he replaced the arm around Newt’s waist, pulling them closer together. “We’re not that bad.”</p><p>“I beg to differ,” said Minho. “But anyway, I come bearing news. Someone told me just now that someone told Jeremy that Molly told them that Vince is planning a campfire thing this evening.”</p><p>“You literally could have just said there’s a campfire tonight,” said Newt.</p><p>Minho waved a hand languidly in the air, “Whatever. You two will probably be too busy making out under a tree somewhere, anyway.”</p><p>“Under a tree?” asked Thomas. “Thanks for the suggestion, man.”</p><p>“Mmm, we’ll have to remember that for later,” said Newt.</p><p>“No, that’s not what I… Ugh, you guys are unbelievable!”</p><p>Minho was answered with two sickly sweet smiles, and a single reassuring pat on the back from Sonya who was trying and failing to hold back a laugh. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The campfire that evening turned out to be a thing of beauty. </p><p>Orange shards of lights ignited the darkening night and shadows danced with every movement, flitting elegantly across faces and among the crowds.</p><p>People requested songs for Brenda to play on her guitar and she did her best to fulfil everyone’s wishes, the little ones dancing in the space that opened up near the fire. Newt watched as Aris spun one of the little ones, Mia, around in his arms and she squealed with every turn they made. There was also Julia who sang along to Brenda’s music as she attempted something that might resemble dancing with her friend Ash who looked more than amused at Julia’s skills (or lack of, for that matter.) </p><p>Eventually, the group at large decided that they were in desperate need of dancing to one of the songs Brenda was going to play for them, and so Newt was dragged along by his hand as he reluctantly followed Thomas closer to where Brenda was sitting with her guitar. He’s never been one for dancing and can’t even begin to compute why someone thought this was a good idea.</p><p>“I don’t see how this is necessary,” Newt complained to Thomas.</p><p>“It’s just one dance, honey,” said Thomas. “Then we can go sit back down, I promise.”</p><p>It was safe to say that Thomas broke his promise.</p><p>Newt somehow managed to lose his boyfriend in a matter of minutes. How he managed that he may never know, but what he does know is that he very much hates ‘dancing’ and wants to go sit down with Thomas more than anything right now. But Thomas is lost, and so Newt manages to sneak away from the group and wander down to the beach, his back to the campfire and all the people gathered beside it.</p><p>The music was muffled at this distance, a vague murmur of melody which floated on the light breeze and sailed its way out towards the horizon. There was always something about this beach in the evening that Newt loved; the way the colours in the sky faded to grey as the sun put itself to bed, and how the moon replaced it with its own haunting source of light. He would always be more of a sunrise kind of person, but he could certainly appreciate the beauty of a sunset.</p><p>It may have only been a matter of minutes that he spent out there alone, staring out at the shimmering mass of water, but he soon heard footsteps behind him, shortly followed by a pair of arms wrapping around his waist and soft lips pressed against his neck.</p><p>“I thought I’d find you here,” said Thomas. “Are you okay?”</p><p>Newt hummed noncommittally, “Mhm. But I’d be better if you hadn’t left me on my own out there.”</p><p>“Sorry babe. I thought you were behind me and then I realised you weren’t but people kept talking to me and they wouldn’t stop until I talked back at them,” Thomas explained before he buried his face into the crook of Newt’s neck, breath tickling ever so slightly.</p><p>“What were they talking to you about?” asked Newt.</p><p>“You, actually. I had a run in with your sister, too. She made sure to let me know that she’d have my head if I ever hurt you. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so scared in my life.”</p><p>Newt sighed, “Sorry about her. She’s a nuisance.”</p><p>“She’s just protective. She was fine when I told her I would never even dream of hurting you. I think she just wants to make sure you’re happy.”</p><p>“I am happy.”</p><p>“Good,” whispered Thomas. “I’m glad.”</p><p>A comfortable silence settled between them as Newt pulled Thomas into a hug, chin resting against his shoulder, and the music from Brenda’s guitar drifted effortlessly down towards them. Newt couldn’t quite make out the song but he didn’t complain when Thomas began gently swaying them to the music. He closed his eyes as Thomas’s hands roamed curiously along his back and waist and he focused on the sensations the motion sent shooting along his nerves. The moment was so intimate that it didn’t require tangible words; the connection between their bodies was enough to speak every truth and portray every emotion.</p><p>Thomas pulled his head back ever so slightly in order to press their foreheads together, his hand coming up to trace tiny circles into the skin at the back of Newt’s neck, the heat igniting a fire in his heart. It was as if the music had whisked them away to another universe and beyond; a place where it was just the two of them and everything else faded away.</p><p>But then Thomas whispered something in Newt’s ear; something that made his heart skip and his stomach turn somersaults. Something that made the stars shine a little brighter and the moon spill all its secrets. Something that Newt would carry with him for the rest of his life:</p><p>“I love you.”</p><p>And Newt smiled the first of many smiles these words would bring him throughout his lifetime, and he didn’t hesitate to speak the truth that his heart will always hold. “I love you too.”</p><p>He watched as Thomas’s face lit up before they finally closed the distance between them. It felt like they were dancing amongst the stars, the ground no longer solid beneath their feet. There was no oxygen, only Thomas. And Newt couldn’t think of a single better way to open up this new chapter of their lives, turning the page together and with finality.</p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>thank you from the bottom of my heart, if you've read to here. thank you.<br/>this story may have taken me nine months from it's start to it's finish, but it's finally finished. it's my literal baby.<br/>this kept me going during lockdown; i'm honestly not sure what i'd have done without it.<br/>if you're here, i love you.<br/>hopefully i'll see you soon with another.<br/>xx<br/>- A</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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